


The Brotherhood

by jazzybutclassy28



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Explicit Language, F/M, Friendship, M/M, Military, Sex, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-10-02 17:20:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 43,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17268236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jazzybutclassy28/pseuds/jazzybutclassy28
Summary: Cloud enlists in the Shinra Cadet Program with the dream to become a SOLDIER. The bonds he forges along the way will be tested by war, violence, and stress. Join Cloud as he learns the reality of war and the burdens of SOLDIER with help from his Brotherhood along the way. C/S. Rated M for: Language, violence, sex, sensitive topics with war.





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The First Bond

A young man wearing a Shinra MP uniform extended out his gloved hand, "Please keep these documents for personal records. If we need any more information we will be sure to contact you. President Shinra greatly appreciates your interest in the Cadet Program. Please have your parent or guardian fill out this paperwork and either bring it back or fax it along with your Cadet ID to the number listed on the bottom of the page," he gave the boy a page with the title: Parental Release Form, "once our office receives it, you will be emailed your departure information."

The weightless piece of paper grew heavy in the boy's hands as it was the one obstacle that made it impossible to fulfill his dreams. His mother passionately despised Shinra and everything his company stood for, repeating over and over how he would never be allowed to join the military or ever work for the Company, even as a janitor. She went as far as refusing to have a television in the house to keep Shinra information and politics out of their lives.

He hesitantly spoke, "Um, sir? What if I can't get a signature?" The recruiter shrugged, "I'm sorry kid. Policy states that all interested recruits under the age of seventeen must have parental consent. You have three days to get a signature on that page from your-, "he looked over at the document on his desk, "Mother, Silva Strife, otherwise your slot in the program will be given to another candidate. If we don't get that consent form, you won't be able to join until you are seventeen. You could always just wait a year." He frowned and nodded, thanking the recruiter, "I will be looking out for your form Strife."

In pursuit of his dream, sixteen-year-old Cloud Strife made his way back into Nibelheim from Rocket Town's recruiting office. Rocket Town is the home of the Shinra Space Program which gave the small town a gigantic financial boom that small mountain towns could only dream of getting. The town's popularity grew with the Space Program and eventually every young man from the surrounding towns wanted to join The Shinra Company. General Heidegger, head of the Shinra Military, decided it would be best to open a recruiting office to accommodate the extensive surge of military enrollment.

Nibelheim had a mountain tram that made travel over the mountains accessible that was able to slightly improve the economics of the town, enough to be able to see the other sides of the mountain at least. He inhaled deeply when he got off the tram- he wanted to savor the last days he could breathe the cold, crisp air of the Nibel Mountains. The town was surrounded by enormous, strong mountains which made Cloud feel insignificant from time to time, casting a judgmental shadow on him more opposing than Alexander ever could. Snow still clung to the peaks, defiant of the sun's attempt to melt the white flakes. Winter was slowly turning into Spring, a great time for a change of life.

The townsfolk hustled around grabbing items for their trades. Tiny cottages dotted around the central water tower. Their roofs were a soft, pale red with ivory stones decorated by beautiful, colorful flowers of all kinds. The stonesmith took pride in the upkeep of the town buildings. He could always be seen with his leather apron repairing cracked stones with a gleam of Pride in his eyes.

Pride.

Pride was something the town was built on. One thing Cloud appreciated in the townsfolk was the care and showmanship each person had towards the town. Everyone had a job to do, including his mother. Silva Strife was a seamstress in town, the only seamstress to be exact as the other women in town were too old to pull a thread through the eye of the needle. His heart saddened when he thought of his mother. Day in and day out she sewed and sewed in order to provide for Cloud's future after his father passed and he knew she was lonely but, yet she continued to smile. His father was a mechanic and Cloud lost him at the young age of five, never hearing anything about him, except his profession which was often followed by a curse word from his mother.

Growing up, Cloud was always sheltered from his father's life. His mother always falling silent to the numerous questions he asked regarding him - her only response to all questions: His name is Vanir, he was a mechanic, he died when you were little, and then the ever infamous 'fuck Shinra' quip at the end. Eventually, Cloud stopped asking and created his own version of his father in his head. He grew evasive over the years, refusing to know who his father was - too scared to shatter the peaceful man he created in his mind.

Rounding a corner, a television in a shop window took Cloud's interest as he meandered to the pane. He pressed his hands on the glass, watching intently. The red Shinra news logo zoomed dramatically from the upper left corner of the screen and rotated quickly in the center. It cut to a helicopter flying above the upper plate, showing off the infrastructure and monstrous steel of Midgar covered in the famous black smog. The darkened sky reflected the lights glowing in the city giving the green hue of Mako, the source of energy of Gaia. The ticker running quickly on the bottom of the screen stated a car explosion killed ten people on the upper plate as Military Police quickly rushed to the scene.

A knot grew in Cloud's stomach pushing forward the occasional fear that would fester in his core. He fell in love with heroism and bravery, wishing that he would carry those virtues one day - but at the same time greatly feared that same danger that would make even the bravest man meet Death. His goal was to make it into Soldier and become a Hero and join the ranks of the top fighters, but he knew that fear would be his enemy. The hardest part of all was the fact that he planned to do this all without his mother knowing.

He stood there as the television's screen continued to light up his face as his mind wandered to the past. His mother was incredibly anti-Shinra. Anything remotely related to Shinra was destroyed. Posters, books, towels, anything with the symbol on it was tossed out of the house. He remembered the first time he saw his mother physically show her hatred for Shinra. He was thirteen years old and he had a small recruitment poster with Second Class Genesis on it, about the same size as a notebook. He was trying to collect all five of the limited-edition posters - one with different Second Class Soldiers on it. She found it under his mattress and she tore it to pieces while yelling angrily about the corruption of Shinra. She then proceeded to accuse Cloud of betraying her just as his father did. For the rest of the night, Cloud heard her sobbing in the bedroom. He never showed another Shinra logo again.

With his mother's track record, it was clearly difficult for Cloud to ever tell his mother about his dream of joining the military. A couple of years ago, this very same television showed an award ceremony for the promotion of Second Class Soldier Sephiroth to First Class. He remembered it so well as the entire town was talking about him. His mother was in the General Store and he snuck off to watch it while she was distracted. The tall and stout President Shinra awarded a plaque to the Soldier while shaking his hand. Wealth radiated from the powerful man as he grinned next to Sephiroth.

The Silver-haired Soldier, that's the name the townsfolk gave Sephiroth. All the women swooned over him, complimenting him on his handsome features while the men complimented him on his strength and military prowess. The Soldier's turquoise eyes struck fear in Cloud, and that was from a distance and through the television screen. What would it be like to stare into those eyes on the battlefield? Sephiroth was an idol to Cloud and to many other boys in town - one of the reasons he wanted to join the military. He just wanted to meet him once but there were so many people in the military he was so sure just catching a glimpse of him would be an impossible task - just like getting his mom to sign the Parental Release Form. Bringing himself back to reality, he banged his head on the window pane in frustration, desperately wanting an idea to pop into his head.

A screaming, shrill voice startled him and snapped him out of his daze, "Oi Cloud! Come 'ere would ye?" A small, frail old woman with a thick, traditional Nibel accent waved from the entrance to the general store across the street. Cloud broke his attention from the television and jogged earnestly to the old woman. Her wrinkled, blue eyes scrunched as she spoke, "Give these to ye mother lad. I've been meanin' to run 'em by but I havn't gottn' the energy in doin' so. The ole' hips don't quite werk as they use to." An innocent but smug smile appeared on her face as she handed Cloud a basket full of thread, needles, and various other patterns and cloths.

Miriam Ulrich was known as the grandmother of Nibelheim. Her bubbly, quirky personality smoothed any tension in Nibelheim and was the main reason the General Store was still running strong. Rumor has it when she was thirty-nine years old, she was strongly advocating against President Shinra's policies, so strongly in fact, her gusto earned her five days in jail - cited for disturbing the peace. Apparently, President Shinra grew tired of her following him around everywhere and ordered her incarceration. There were clearly details missing from the story that Mrs. Ulrich would always mischievous grin at when asked such as how she knew the location of the President. The secret would hide forever behind her smile. Evidently, that wasn't her only run in with the law - Cloud also heard down the grapevine she wasn't even allowed in Midgar anymore.

She eyed Cloud up and down, "My boy, you sure are gettin' bigger ain't ye? Did ye grow overnight?" The old woman squeezed Cloud's arm and he winced with a smile. The old ladies always had a thing for him. He always assumed it was because of his mother. He gave a small chuckle, "Thank you Mrs. Ulrich. I'll be sure to give them to her for you."

"Hey boy." A strong, drawn-out deep voice rolled out of the General Store. Cloud looked in and saw Mr. Ulrich leaning behind the counter with his arms bracing himself, "Cedrik, quit yer slouchin'! Looks bad for the customers!" The old woman reprimanded.

The tall, medium-build man laughed, holding his posture firm, "Even at fifty-six, my mother still yells at me." His mother laughed, "Least you still have one! I haven't croaked yet meaning the gods still expect me to do me job!"

Cedrik Ulrich, the eldest child of Miriam Ulrich, took over the ownership of the General Store after he finished his contract in the military. Cedrik was tight-lipped regarding his service but it was confirmed through whispers that he worked with aircrafts. After bailing his mother out countless amounts of times for fighting Shinra, he decided not to renew his military contract and moved back to Nibelheim to keep her out of jail.

He began working at the General Store and eventually bought it from the owner's daughter when the owner passed away. Now he and his mother run the shop and business was booming more than ever- especially after the addition of the mountain tram. He shared his mother's deep blue eyes and sported medium-length blonde hair which he parted on his right side. He was truly a handsome man including his slight stubble on his chin. His jawline was strong and chiseled, pulsating constantly as he was always chewing on a toothpick, claiming he was kicking his smoking habit.

Mrs. Ulrich smiled as she walked back into the store, "Ye be a good son ye hear? Don't give 'er any trouble like this one gives me." Mr. Ulrich waved goodbye at Cloud as he proceeded to attend to a customer. Mrs. Ulrich turned and entered the store, still poking fun at her son.

Cloud smiled at their antics and looked over at a posting board outside of the General Store. He walked closer to the board to read. What caught Cloud's eye was a flyer looking for 'highly interested young men' to join the Mining Training Program. The length of time initial training was: Two Months - that's perfect. The idea clicked in Cloud's mind. The answer to one of his questions: what would his cover be? Of course, two months was a little shorter than the Cadet Programs training time, but it would give Cloud a head start in training- at least his mother wouldn't be able to travel or contact him if he is in the mines. He snatched the flyer and put it in his pocket - his mind burning to create a plan.

\--

Black ashes were drifting in the sky as sparks lit up the area. The sound of iron and steel permeated the area. The sizzle of hot iron dipped in water reflected the sting of his heart. The black smudges on his face showed his story. He looked over and saw the blacksmith beating the iron with the hammer, hardening the steel. A man beloved by all towns folks but deeply hated by his own son. The seventeen-year-old Harley sighed as he brought his focus back to his work and quenched the blade once again in water. His father, the blacksmith, passed on another sword to him and he racked the last blade, and again, sizzling permeated the area.

The smoke from the quenching got into Harleys eyes as he dropped the blade on the ground. His eye protection failed him as he quickly leaped away from the smoke and pried his goggles off, leaving the searing hot blade to clank on the ground, denting it in the process.

"Harley!" the booming voice of the blacksmith shook Harley.

Harley stood up with repetitive apologies, but they all fell on ears deafened by rage. In an instant he was shoved up against the wall of the shop, his head hitting the wall hard. "You useless son of a bitch!"

His father grabbed and hurled the hunk of now-useless steel at Harley, hitting him in the arm and opening a wound. Harley grabbed the skin as his father yelled at him, "goddamned pussy!" He then looked up at the ceiling muttering under his breath, "I should have never fucked that bitch." He stood to his full height of six feet and walked over to Harley.

Harley tried to scurry away from him, but he wasn't fast enough. The blacksmith picked him up and pinned him against the wall, pressing his coal-smeared face closer to Harley's, the strong smell of alcohol laced on his breath, "I'll be damned if you don't get crushed and die in the mines" he tapped Harley against the wall hitting his head again, "You never were of any use to me," he growled as he released Harley and stepped back. He took another swig of brandy and spit it in Harley's face.

Harley dropped to the ground. This caused his father to swiftly kick him in the stomach, eliciting a yelp from Harley, "Get out you worthless piece of shit, you are about as pointless as your mother. That fat-assed Baker's boy could do a better job." he snarled at the crumpled boy. A searing hatred boiled in Harley's stomach. His mother, also a subject of his father's abuse, did her best to ward of the violent Beast in front of him. After her sudden death, Harley took all the hits and became his personal punching bag. There was nothing Harley could ever do to calm him. His father towered over him. He was exceptionally muscular from all his manual labor in the shop and was intimidating to say the least. His fierce green eyes bore deep into Harley's core - he could have sworn he was burned by the fire in his father's eyes.

Slowly, Harley pushed his broken body from the floor and stood hunched over, clenching his cut, bleeding arm. He glared at his father with hate behind his emerald eyes, holding his stare. The cruelness of his father slowly pushed him closer and closer to the breaking point. He quivered with pain. He could feel his body giving out on him as his will to fight diminished with every punch and every kick. His father turned his back to him, picked up the ruined blade, and began to fix the damage, muttering expletives and slurs under his breath all while taking swigs of whisky in between. Harley stared one last time at the Beast before he took a deep breath and left the workshop.

The weight of his feet abused the ground with each hurried step as he yanked his leather apron off over his head in mid-stride and balled it up in a fury. His white button-down shirt was stained, along with his face, with black smog from the shop mixed with blood. His eyebrows stitched close together with pain in his eyes as he hurried along to his destination, his surroundings blurring around him. A tightness in his chest from holding back tears restricted his breath. He turned the corner around the city hall and without any thought and smacked into a body and fell to the ground.

"Geeze Harley, can you be less forceful?" A playful tone was only to be expected when Harley saw who he collided with. He spat out a 'sorry' and pulled her to her feet, trying to hide his injury.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

He shook his head, "Don't worry about it Tifa, I'm running an errand for my dad."

The brown-haired girl pursed her lips together, "Your father sure does work hard." The complement stung him as he swerved past her hurriedly with his anger refueled, "Uh, wait Harley! Wait for me!" Tifa clamored as she sprinted to catch up to him. He stopped and turned around nearly running into her again, his face scrunched with annoyance trying to hold back tears, "Can you please just leave me alone?"

Tifa stood still with a hurt expression on her face as she watched Harley fade into the mountains.

\--

With the sun setting, Cloud headed home for dinner. His humble cottage was covered in beautiful, brightly colored flowers planted by his mother. With the shut of the front door his mother yelled from the kitchen, "Cloud is tha' you? Can ye come 'ere please, we 'ave a guest." Cloud walked into the kitchen and saw his mother sitting at the dinner table with company. A soft smile on her face.

"Oh, Hello Mrs. Bellick."

An older woman smiled and cheerfully returned the greeting. Mrs. Bellick was the owner of the local bookstore. She and his mother were part of the town's book club and just came over for a visit. Cloud politely excused himself to his room, eager to plan the story he would tell his mom. He gently shut his door to his small room and locked it - hoping his mother wouldn't hear the soft 'click' of the lock.

He ran over to his bed and laid out the forms and the flyer and stared at them. He retrieved a notebook and wrote down the story he would practice telling his mother.

"Mom," he began in a whispered breath, "I want to be a coal miner. I think that would be the best option for me because it is a guaranteed job for life. I found a flyer advertising training in the Corel Mines and I will be gone for two months-" He shook his head, "Scratch that," he drew a line through his sentence and continued, "I can learn everything needed in only two months' time so I can get a career that will support you so you don't have to work anymore. I know you want the best for me and I want to choose a career that has growth outside of his town."

Cloud nodded and changed his voice to a high pitch mocking his mother, "but Cloud, ye neva' been on ye own befor'. How will ye' ever survive?" Cloud's voice grew normal as he clasped his hand in front of his chest gallantly, "It's alright mom - you have raised me to take care of myself. It's only time that I start taking care of you. What will happen to you when you are too old to sew? Besides, I will be seventeen soon and I-"

"Cloud! Suppa's ready!" Cloud's pantomime was interrupted, and he took a deep breath. He stood still with his adrenaline pumping. The shock of his mother's voice caused him to panic, as if she was going to discover his ruse. After a minute of silence knowing his mother was still in the kitchen, he regained his composure. He was going to go for it tonight - he had to. He didn't have the time to waste as he needed to get all his chocobos lined up in three days when he would receive his departure information. He rustled his blond hair nervously with his hands. It's now or never. Uncertainty sat in his stomach as he hurriedly gathered the documents and shoved them into his loose floorboard under his bed along with other 'forbidden' Shinra paraphernalia.

Cautiously, Cloud joined his mother. Her blonde ponytail draped over her left shoulder and her hands were gently placed on the table, one on top of the other, her intense blue eyes focused on Cloud, "Did ye get whateva ye needed in Rocket Town, was it?" He nodded his head.

"Sure did," he took a gulp of water from the sink and turned to face his mom hesitantly. He kept opening and closing his mouth to begin his speech until finally, his voice worked, "Mom, there is something I want to talk to you about." His mom stood from the table only to sit back down again, "Whuts' the matter Cloud?" Her blue eyes shone with concern. Cloud started, "I'm getting older and I've been putting a lot of thought into what I need to do for a trade," he paused and looked at his mom for reassurance, "and I found - something that I would be interested in." Pushing on slowly he began to gather more courage, until his mother cut him off.

"I swear tuh the God of Nibel if ye be tellin' me anyting 'bout the military-" her voice shook the house. Cloud yelled as sudden burst of nerves took over, "No! Mom, just listen."

She shot out of her seat enraged and spat her words out quickly. "I'll be damned if ye join that son-of-a-bitches military! I've been firm on me views of that bastard and here ye are goin' against me word! Oi Cloud I ought' to-"

"I want to be a coal miner!" Cloud shouted. Silva's mouth closed as she inhaled and sat back down in silence, seemingly ashamed of her sudden outburst. Cloud's hands grew cold with anxiety. He held his breath waiting for something to cut the thickness in the room.

"A coal miner Cloud? Since when? Ye nev'r talked 'bout this before. Why the sudden interest?"

Cloud stared at her without an answer, his nerves climbed into his throat. He didn't get this far in his rehearsal. Something believable better come out of his ass real soon. Something.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck

Cloud's eyes widened as he started slowly, "Leaning how to use coal for energy and materials is detrimental in this day in age. The Shinra Company is killing the planet by draining its life source and coal is the better environmental solution. I think once I become a coal miner and surround myself with other people with like-mindedness, we can revert back to the older times in which we were kinder to our Planet. I've been thinking about this a lot since I was a kid, Ma. I want to do a job that provides a stronger future for us and our future generations. Shinra is killing the planet."

Silva stared at him and stood from the table, "You're goin' down a dangerous path Cloud. Are ye sure about this? I don't want to stop yer dreams but, the mines are dangerous."

Cloud nodded, "I know Ma. You've always told me in order to be successful, you must stick your head out a little bit. I think this is going to open more options in the future – maybe we can even leave Nibelheim once I'm established."

Silva's expression turned from a look of concern to a look of homesickness. It was clear that Nibelheim was her home but at the same time she constantly voiced her concerns that Shinra was slowly creeping into the town – especially after the Mako Reactor was built. Silva turned to the stove and began to dish supper out for the two of them. She placed the bowls on the table and motioned for Cloud to join, which he hesitantly did.

The two of them discussed Cloud's career as a coal miner over dinner. For the duration of the meal, it proved exceedingly hard for Cloud to silence his guilty conscience as he continued to smile at his mother while lies spilled from his mouth.

\--

It was seven o'clock and the sun began to go down, just enough light to do a quick after-dinner hike. Cloud headed to the pathway past the old Shinra Manor. He looked at it like a doting fanboy - loving anything that has to do with Shinra. He walked along the cliffs as the pathway grew rocky and dim with the green glow of Mako, a sign that he was getting closer to the mountains. He replayed over and over in his head the conversation with his mother. She bought it. Everything. He was weighed down by guilt for lying to his mother. He consoled himself with the fact that her resistance to Shinra culture caused him to lie - he knew this wasn't a reason for his dishonesty, but it calmed his soul just enough to continue with his pursuit of his dream.

The last problem he faced was the Parental Release Form that laughed at him intimidatingly. He began to feel the cool mountain breeze roll through his hair and kiss his face. He paused as he looked down into a crater in the mountain. He kicked a rock into the chasm and watched it bounce down into nothing. His insides twisted thinking about his solution: forging her signature. His face scrunched up and he squatted down rubbing his head with stress.

"Well, that's my only option I guess," he muttered into the chasm, a small echo bounced back. Cloud didn't even want to think about the consequences of getting caught, especially since it would be on an official military document. Torn, he stood and continued his walk up the mountain.

\--

The tall mountain rocks were weighing heavy on him. Harley gazed off the side of the mountain. His feet more than halfway over the cliff with the same pain in his eyes.

"Why did you leave me? Is it because I couldn't protect you?" Harley softly spoke into the depths on the mountain. The wind whipped his chestnut brown hair on his forehead as if it was replying.

"Sometimes, I want to go and be with you," he whispered as he inched closer over the cliff. The sound of rocks dropping under his weight echoed in the abyss. He stared into the bottomless pit with nothing but pain and despair in his heart. The pain from his father unleashed itself in him. He could no longer hold his composure. His face scrunched with silent, dry tears that no longer would form. He covered his mouth, trying to stifle the dark thoughts in his head.

If I just disappeared, I could escape this pain

Closer his feet moved to the edge.

Do it. Do it.

The image of his bloodied and abused mother rose in his mind. The times he found her sobbing in the corner with bruises and cuts on her body. The times she used herself as a shield to protect him as a child. As he readied himself to fall into the abyss, he spoke one last time:

"I'm sorry mom. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you," he sobbed, "I can't even protect myself. I can't keep dealing with him!" He leaned forward to meet sweet Death. As his feet rocked off the cliff, a large burst of wind pushed him backwards onto the rocky ground.

He let out a frustrated scream, "Just let me die!" Footsteps brought him out of his daze. They weren't heading towards him, they were further away. He looked over and across the chasm was a blonde-haired boy hiking up the mountainside. Cloud?

Talk to him

Something in his chest urged Harley to approach Cloud. But for what? They never talked much. Harley tried to shake the internal command, but it was eating him up inside. Their relationship was mainly in passing but he did hear what the other kids thought of Cloud - no one liked him because he was so quiet. He shrugged and internally said 'No' to his thought and continued back towards town.

Talk to him

The voice again boomed in his mind. "Ugh, Okay! Fine!" He muttered angrily to himself. He looked back over to Cloud and began to plot out his path around the mountains to reach the other side.

A while after walking Harley finally caught up to Cloud. Surprisingly, the blonde was fast at scaling the mountain.

"Oi Cloud, wait up!" he sputtered breathlessly.

Cloud was startled from the voice, enough to lose his footing a slide a bit down the mountain side. He caught himself with his hands and stood up again, turning to the voice. Harley?

"What are you doing out here Cloud? It's dangerous." Cloud pursed his lips and retorted, "Same goes for you."

Harley exhaled and looked around as if trying to find words, "I just- I just needed a cool-off."

Cloud thought of words to speak too, realizing he wasn't sure how to talk to him. He decided to push the subject, "A cool-off?" Harley nodded. "Did you get in a fight?" Cloud noticed Harley looked rough and stressed out. Harley looked right at Cloud, "I don't know why but I have this urge to talk to you. Can I trust you?"

"Why do you ask trust from someone you don't know?" Cloud questioned.

"Hmph. Figures. I guess the other guys were right about you." Cloud's eyes squinted, "The other...guys?"

Harley nodded, "They all say you are too full of yourself to talk to them. They all say you are an outcast."

Cloud intervened as a sudden burst of anger shot out of his chest, "An outcast! They've made me an outcast! I don't talk to them because they've bullied me ever since I was little!" Harley's eyes widened and he held his tongue, he didn't know about Cloud being bullied and grew regretful for trusting the other boys in town. Cloud shook his head with anger, "Those rats always had something against me. It made making friends very difficult - even with outsiders. The only people that talk to me are the adults."

Harley smiled, "Then I can trust you." Harley motioned Cloud over to a large rock and both sat down on, "Cloud, how often have they fought with you?" Cloud inhaled and looked as if he was counting, "Too many. I would walk home with bruises almost weekly. They always picked on me because I was smaller than them, but by the time you moved here, they lost interest in me and I've been avoiding them ever since."

"What if we become friends now? Will that stir up their interest in fighting again?" He smiled.

Cloud rolled his eyes, "No one will pick a fight with you, your dad is influential in town."

Quietly above a whisper, Harley spoke, "Yeah, he keeps me all to himself." A confused look appeared on Clouds face which caused Harley to continue, "Look Cloud, I don't know why I am talking to you but - I just need to talk. Just like you, I have no one. I - can I trust you? Like really trust you."

He nodded, "You can trust me." Wind blew through Cloud's spiky hair. He was mostly concerned for Harley's disheveled and unkempt appearance.

Harley took a minute to gather himself as Cloud anticipated his first words, "My dad is an alcoholic and he - gets in a drunken stupor and takes his problems out on me - physically," he pulled up his sleeve to show Cloud the cut from the blade, Cloud gasped in response," He's not this perfect man that he makes himself out to be," he paused, "He's been planning to send me to the coal mines in hopes that I die. He told me he never wants me to come back. This is a daily conversation between us, usually after he beats me." He buried his head in his hands.

Cloud's mouth was agape. He could feel the drool pooling around his bottom teeth. Harley sighed and shook his head regretting confiding in Cloud until he finally spoke, "How long has this been going on?"

Harley buried his face in his hands "Ever since I was little. Once my mom died, he shifted all his anger towards me. My mother...god my mother. He- the things he did to her…" he trailed off as Cloud awkwardly placed a hand on Harley's shoulder as he continued, "I just wish there was something I could do. I want him to suffer. I can't very well do that from the coal mines."

"What if you don't go to the coal mines." Harley turned his gaze towards Cloud.

"What?"

He continued excitingly, "You want to take him down right?" Harley nodded, "Why don't you join the military. If you rise in the ranks, you might be able to stop him!"

Harley shifted, "He goes twice a year to Corel Town to find supplies. Plus, he's best friends with the Mine Operator - there's no way he wouldn't tell my father I wasn't there. The whole reason I'm going there is so he can have more control over the mines and get better deals on his raw materials for the shop."

Cloud smiled, "Then we need to find someone who will cover for you. That gives you plenty of time to finish basic."

Anger rose in Harley's voice, "Cloud, why are you thinking so irrationally. You're talking about the impossible," He spat at Cloud. Cloud hung his head. Noticing this, Harley exhaled, paused, and pushed the idea, "If I were to find someone to do that, where would that leave me? My father will just beat me even more when he finds out."

"Once you swear in at basic, you are in contract with Shinra. Your father wouldn't be able to do anything to you without the military getting involved."

Intrigued with this information, Harley couldn't help but question, "And you know this how?"

Cloud swallowed hard and decided to take a gamble, "I guess it's time for me to ask you is you can be trusted."

Harley lazily crossed his heart with his finger which signaled Cloud to continue hesitantly, "I told my mother that I was going to go to the Corel Mines for work in two weeks and that I want to be a coal miner," he paused, "but, I'm really running off and pursuing my dream."

"And what dream is that?" Harley put a sarcastic emphasis on 'dream' which caused Cloud to furrow his brows.

"I'm joining the military." It was Harley's turn to have his mouth agape.

Harley jumped up from his seat, "The whole town knows about your mother's hatred of Shinra! What if she finds out! How is that a plan?"

Cloud's blue eyes lit up as he unveiled his secret, "I would leave for basic training in two weeks, conveniently that is the same time I would leave to go work at the coal mine. The coal mine states that training would take two months to complete and be considered a Mine Technician. Basic training is only four months," Harley interrupted, "and what will you do with those other two months?"

Cloud shook his head, "I would keep call her and tell her I have to stay longer. She won't question it. That way, I'm locked into contract with the Military at that point. It would be illegal for me to not return to the military if I pass basic. If I don't pass, I return home and act like it never happened and tell my mom the mining path isn't for me. My first obstacle is the Parental Release Form so I can join. I have three days to give it back to the recruiting officer. There's no way my mom will sign it."

"Well, are you going to forge it?" Harley questioned. Cloud shrugged as Harley spoke again, "Joining the military. I've never thought of that. Maybe that will give me what I need to take out that son-of-a-bitch." He paused in thought for a minute and looked at Cloud with new found hope, "Cloud, let's meet tomorrow, same spot and plan this out. I think...I think I'll come with you. We can both use the coal mining job as a cover and we will work on transportation - I have an idea of how we get there. All I need to do is sign up. Where do I enlist?"

Cloud filled him in and Harley promised to sign up early the next morning, the best thing Harley had going for him at this point was freedom. His father simply didn't give a shit where he was or what he was doing, as long as he was home to take his nightly beatings. Both boys shook hands and with that, a new friendship was born around their secret pact. Cloud to fulfill his dreams of becoming a Soldier, and Harley to seek revenge on his father and destroy him.


	2. Plan in Motion

Morning dew clung desperately to the flowers in Nibelheim as Silva stepped out of her humble cottage. The air was crisp and fresh as a chill breeze blew through her braided hair. She wanted to cook Cloud his favorite meal, Spicy Nibel Wolf soup, for lunch – hoping to talk more about his interest in a mining career. Her golden hair reflected the sun as she peacefully walked through the town heading to the market square, a small area with several merchants selling various food products and trinkets. Upon arrival, her first stop was the butcher's stall. She eagerly glanced around for ripeness of the meat.

"Oi pretty lady, we have a pound of Nibel Wolf for 30 gil, freshly caught at six this morning." Silva checked her small wrist watch, "I'd say that's quite fresh, only been an hour since." She examined the meat and saw the darkened red color, confirming its freshness. She slapped the meat, "I'll be takin' this one. Can ye' give me a lower price? I havn't got the whole thirty." She rummaged through a small gil pouch, "How 'bout 20 gil?" The butcher glanced at her, "Well, for a pretty lass like you, I'll take the twenty." She smiled in victory, finished the transaction, and continued shopping.

After bartering and negotiating with the other vendors, she finally checked off the last ingredient on her list. As she was leaving the Merchants Square, she passed a booth that was covered in cute stuffed animals. She picked up a small, plush Chocobo and giggled as it reminded her of Cloud. Since her negotiation skills were unmatched, she had just enough gil left to buy it. She had her hand stretched out to drop the gil into the merchant's hand, but a deep voice interrupted, "No need Silva, it's on me." The familiar voice caught her off guard. She turned to see at tall, blonde-haired man, "Ay Cedrik, wha' a pleasant surprise seein' ye' so early this mornin'." Her tone was upbeat and cheerful.

His sharp, ocean-blue eyes glimmered in the morning sun, "I could ask the same of you," he nosily peeked at Silva's bag, "Nibel Wolf, are we celebrating something?" His husky voice caused a smile to break on her face.

Silva exhaled, still showing her soft smile, "I'll be cookin' it for lunch," she paused as she confided in him, "Last night, Cloud told me he wanted to go th' path of th' miner. I jus' need to get mor' information from 'im. It's just so sudden. We talked about it over supper but, I jus' don't kno' how I feel 'bout it." Her thick Nibel accent was soft and soothing to him. He found it rather charming.

Cedrik gave a small 'hmph', "How did an idea like that strike him?" He chewed on the toothpick clenched by his perfect, pearly white teeth.

Silva's wide eyes grew concerned, "He saw a flyer for th' Corel Mines trainin' program an' suddenly, he became very eager to sign up. I haven't seen 'im so excited for somethin'," a small noise escaped her throat, "he told me he was sendin' off some paperwork to the minin' office today – I guess that's it. He's going to th' mines."

Silva pursed her lips and lowered her voice as she continued, "Cloud hasn't been talkin' much after he distanced 'imself with the other boys in town. I do wonder 'bout 'im. It seems he finally had a spark of passion and it's been so long since I've seen that glow in 'is eyes – I'd be 'fraid to stop 'im. Besides, a coal miner is a great trade and it's much betta' than some of the other options boys in this small town 'ave. As long as he doesn't follow his father, I'll support 'im."

Cedrik shook his head and lowered his voice to match Silva's, "When will you tell him about his father. He has a right to know."

She shot him a dirty look as her stance grew uncomfortable, "I've told ye before, ye military kinds are a bad influence with ye violent thoughts and rough edges- he'd follow the same path as 'is father if I told 'him. I kno' it. Wha' Shinra did to my husband is and will always be unforgivable. He came back a different man Cedrik, and ye know it too," her face dropped with sadness, "Shinra already took my love away from me. I won't let 'im take me son – and I don't need ye telling me how to raise 'im either." Her voice laced with irritation.

With concern raveled in his words, he pushed the subject, "He needs to get out and make his own decisions based on his dreams, not yours. If Vanir knew his woman was holding his son back-" he trailed off. Cedrik was fond of Silva but her decision to keep pertinent information about Cloud's own father from him was what he despised the most about the woman. She raised Cloud based on her own fears and deprived him of his interests –blocking so many potential pathways and burdening him with unfulfilled dreams.

Cedrik knew the path Cloud wanted ever since he was a boy – it was blatantly obvious. The moment Cloud realized Cedrik was ex-military, he bombarded him with questions nearly every day about his service, but once Silva found out he was talking with Cloud, she accused him of putting wild thoughts into her son's head and forbade him to ever speak about the military again. That was the first time Cedrik saw the darkness in Silva.

Gasps filled the small area as the sound of and hand striking skin caused onlookers to turn their attention to Cedrick. A sharp sting spread rapidly through his cheek, the sheer shock caused his toothpick to fall from his mouth onto the cobblestone pathway. His eyes widened with a fierceness that he sealed away years ago, clearly signaling overstepped boundaries.

She stood with her mouth agape and spoke with gravel in her voice despite the look in his eyes, "How dare you. You don't have the right to speak to me in such a way!" She uncontrollably shook as anger began to pour from her heart. He stood, staring at her with his mouth parted slightly, still feeling the remnants of the slap. He continued ignoring the looks from the crowd around them but before she could say another word and create a bigger scene, he stopped her.

Growling low, he spat, "We all have our losses Silva, you just wear yours like armor."

Her piercing gaze stabbed him in his heart, "I think it is best that we go our separate ways before things get worse."

He nodded in agreement, the tension between them remaining for the future.

\--

Harley arrived slightly before eleven o'clock for his meeting with the recruiter in Rocket Town. A squeaky metal chair provided him no comfort as he waited in the tiny entrance area for the recruiter to call him into the office. He turned his head to his right and internally shivered as he met the fiery eyes of a First Class Soldier– well, a poster of a First Class Soldier at least. The poster had bold white font resting underneath the man reading: Soldier First Class Genesis. He laughed at himself for being intimidated by a 15 x 25 poster and broke eye contact with the glossy paper- until he saw something more intimidating, and real.

The sound of the door opening brought Harley's attention to a tall, muscular man who was exiting the recruiter's office. He had raven black hair slicked back with slight stubble on his chin. Incredible muscles were brazenly showing from his sleeveless navy turtleneck with black pauldrons covering his shoulders. He wore loose fitting black trousers which were neatly bloused on top of black polished combat boots. Leather gloves adorned his hands and a black belt nestled snugly around his waist with, what he learned from the news and other media outlets, was the Soldier insignia.

His gait was powerful, demanding any and all attention from the room. Harley's body stood on edge, the man's power sucking the air right from his lungs as he passed by him. He stopped in front of Harley, whose mouth was hanging open in surprise, and held his stare until Harley slowly stood to his feet, subconsciously giving whoever this man was respect.

The imposing man gave an unexpected gentle smile as he began to speak, "Are you here to join?" His voice was soothing and strong. Harley, for a minute, didn't register that the question was directed at him. Words were stuck in his throat as he finally managed to speak quietly, "Y- yes Sir."

The Soldier nodded as he stretched out a hand towards Harley. Harley grasped the man's hand and was taken away by the strength in his grip, "Embrace your dreams and don't forfeit your honor." He paused and gazed into, what Harley felt like, his soul, "Maybe we'll meet again one day." He looked up at the man's glowing blue-green eyes while they were shaking hands and what he saw surprised him. For a man as dominating and powerful as he, the man's eyes had a peaceful energy radiating from within. Their hands unclasped, yet Harley could still feel his phantom grip.

His mouth hung opened as he watched the figure walk out of the small office, still stunned by their exchange. The recruiter stepped out into the small wait area and summoned Harley. Still frozen in surprise, he was jolted by the recruiter standing in the doorway calling his name again. He turned his attention towards the voice. The recruiter donned the typical Shinra MP uniform – helmet absent. He had medium-length sandy blonde hair with bright, light brown eyes. His aged face had many stories etched into the skin. His eyes were bright and animated, along with his eyebrows. His teeth were perfectly aligned and glistening white as he proudly smiled.

"First time seeing one of 'em I guess? And he actually talked to you – shocker." The recruiter drawled as he smiled at Harley and motioned with his hand to follow him. Harley glanced at the exit door one last time then followed the recruiter into his office.

The tiny office had a cheap light-brown desk with a black aluminum base that echoed when kicked. Connected to the L-shaped desk was an overhead shelving unit that was adorned with service awards and a Shinra Company flag encased in a glass frame. The desk engulfed more than three-fourths of the room. Three metal chairs with cheap fabric padding, the kind of padding that would make any ass fall asleep, lined the opposing wall. The standard gray and black carpet covered the floor, giving the room a plastic, musty smell. A large Shinra Logo was painted on the wall as a backdrop to the desk. On the recruiter's desk lay several picture frames with children and a woman, presumably his family. Next to the pictures was a small brochure advertising the Military Police, followed by his name plaque which read: Sgt. Miller.

The recruiter walked around to sit behind his desk, "Your reaction is normal, you don't see many Soldiers wandering around small towns like these – except in wartime. They're scary guys, that's for sure," he said with a laugh and leaned back in his chair, "a different breed of men." The recruiter gestured for Harley to have a seat. He sat down in the opposite chair as he was looking around the office and was surprised to see a poster of the man from earlier hanging on the wall. The recruiter noticed, "Ha, I just put it back up. I take it down when he visits, says he doesn't like the publicity. He's a humble one."

His attention was still on the poster, the bolded, white words on the poster read: Angeal Hewley. That name resonated within Harley as he committed it to memory.

The recruiter cleared his throat, "So, Harley, to begin with, I am Sgt. Miller of the Shinra Military Police and I have been enlisted for fifteen years as an infantry personnel. I was stationed in Mideel when the Battle of Calloway ensued, are you familiar with that battle?"

Harley nodded as he recalled learning about it in school, "Yes, the Mideel president was arrested for a drug ring, correct?"

Sgt Miller nodded, "Correct, which was what prompted the Shinra Military, my squadron to be exact, to invade and take control over Mideel – leaving it in its present, powerless state. After I toured more of Gaia, I decided to settle down and take the job as a recruiter here in Rocket Town." He shifted in his chair, "The military has provided amazingly well for my wife and three kids. You shake hands with Shinra and he will take care of you for the rest of your days."

He paused and drummed his fingers on the desk. Harley was intrigued instantly by this man. He was an easy talker and animated with his voice tone, managing to keep Harley interested, "Enough about me, let's get to the real reason we are meeting – tell me about yourself and why you are pursuing a career with the Shinra Military? I've looked over your application and know who you are on paper, but I want you to bring this," he tapped the application three times, "to life."

Harley shifted in is chair uncomfortably. He wasn't the type of kid who would rattle off about himself. Any time he was in a situation to talk about personal interests, he tended to say basic facts that could be applied to anyone.

He laughed awkwardly and gave a smirk, "I'm a small-town boy sir, there isn't much interesting about me."

"Nonsense," Sgt. Miller started, "Everyone has their story. Let me ask you a question that is absent from the application– what do you do in your spare time?"

Harley took a minute to gather his thoughts, unsure of what to say, "I have an interest in blacksmithing sir."

"Blacksmithing? What a trade! What do you usually smith?"

Harley slowly pulled his words out, "Training swords, shields, hatchets, light armor, tools, anything with metals really. I'm currently working on improving my skills as a bladesmith so I can make higher quality weapons besides training gear," Sgt. Miller's face was smiling. He was familiar with small-town trades but he wasn't expecting Harley to be equipped with such skills. He was impressed to say the least. Harley quickly added, "I can also make cooking pans."

A short laugh came from across the desk, "Cooking pans?" he said, feigning interest. Harley slowly nodded his head.

"Makes cooking pans. I should probably note that – seems like an integral bit of information for administration to know. Why, a solid hit to the face with a cooking pan will shock any enemy." Harley cracked a smile.

Sgt. Miller folded his arms on the desk, "Why do you want to join?" Harley thought hard and carefully about his next answer. He didn't want to come right out and say the true reason behind his enlistment, but he didn't want to give a dishonest answer. After talking with Cloud the night before, he gained an interest in Shinra and researched the many departments and employment opportunities that were offered – knowing he wouldn't fulfill a career with combat, he looked at the weapon aspect side of the Company. He carefully crafted his reply, "I have an interest in Shinra's Weapons Development Department."

Sgt. Miller chimed in, "You can just apply as a civilian, why would you join the ranks?"

Harley smiled, "I can easily craft a weapon, Sir, but it is not made for the soldier, it's made for me – a civilian."

Sgt. Miller's eyebrows rose, showing more wrinkles on his forehead as he waited for Harley to continue, "To make a weapon for a soldier is to know how the soldier uses it, how it performs on the battlefield." He paused and shifted his eyes as if looking for words in the air, "When I craft a weapon, I am limited to my own knowledge, my own skills. I can run research and test data on the weapon, but I can't feel the weapon, I can't feel the soldier's response to the weapon. In order for me to operate to the best of my ability, I need to be a soldier and think like a soldier when I craft weapons."

"Oh, the stories I've heard about the Head of Weapons Development getting into fights with the Head of Public Safety is astounding." They both smiled. He turned his attention back towards Harley and spoke with a concerned tone, "Is basic right for you?" He paused to let the words sink into the young, brown-haired boy.

"Are you aware of what you are getting yourself into? Once you swear in at MEPS*, you can't leave. There's no calling your mom to come pick you up midway when you are tired of waking up at four in the mornin'. There's no walking out when you are tired of doing flutter kicks on wet grass. You are stuck and you can't leave unless you fail- which is not something you want to be known for." Sgt. Miller's eyebrows furrowed, showing the strength behind his words.

"Are you aware of the repercussions if you don't pull through?" He highlighted a sentence on the application and turned it towards Harley. It read: Upon swearing in on departure date, I understand that my absence will result in dishonorable discharge and up to three years in prison.

"I want to be crystal clear with you regarding the consequences of abandonment. If you understand the warnings that I am giving you and you agree to the terms, please sign." Harley marinated in the recruiter's words. He refused to go to the mines. That's not what he wanted to do. He wanted to make his own decision for once. He nodded his head with confidence.

The Sergeant shook his head and pushed Harley's military enrollment application further towards him, motioning for him to sign the agreement, "I personally think you are better off joining the Company though different means," his voice tone grew more convincing, perhaps borderline begging, "I can direct you to my contact in the Weapons Department – you'll have more focused training on weapons rather than doing ruck marches until your feet bleed. I'm all for signing up recruits for the military, it's my job. I get paid based on the number of boys I can sign up but, you will be better off going through the civilian's weapons course. It's a month-long class that will cover the basics of all weapon types – afterwards, you can submit your application to the Weapons Department. With your background in smithing, you are a sure candidate."

The recruiter was right, there was no denying it. If he wanted to go to the Weapons Department, he was wasting time going to basic. What the recruiter didn't know was the true motivation behind Harley's enrollment and the fate Harley had if he didn't join basic. Having the honor of being a soldier and being conditioned into a fighting machine was more seductive to him than simply having an office job as a civilian. He stared at the application in front of him. He was signing his life away to President Shinra. Either finish basic and have a career as a soldier or turn back and have a career in the mines – under the ever-abusive fist of his father.

Harley exhaled, looked the man boldly in the eye with an unwavering gaze, and slowly slid the application back toward him with a well-placed signature, "I'm going to basic."

The recruiter pursed his lips with disappointment knowing this young man was going down the wrong path, "Alright, if that is what you want. I can't argue." He turned in his chair and began inputting Harley's application into the system, "It will take me a minute, but once I finish up you will be officially enrolled." Computer keys typed quickly to fill the silence between them until it was replaced with the recruiters voice, "I don't know what it is about Nibel boy's, but you all are stubborn mules. Just the other day a boy from your town enrolled and I tried to talk him down but he didn't budge a bit."

Cloud. It had to be Cloud. Harley smiled on the inside while relief washed over him. Cloud was telling the truth. It wasn't that he didn't trust Cloud but he didn't want to go into this alone and have Cloud pull out last minute. This was an enormous decision on his part with severe consequences, consequences that Cloud couldn't even fathom. Yes, Mrs. Strife was severely anti-Shinra, but she would never physically hurt Cloud – at least nothing beyond a slap to the face, but who didn't get a surprise slap every now and then.

"Alright Harley, you have been cleared for enlistment. I have your Departure Package but there are some details I will need to fill out. Every month has a departure date and you can choose what you prefer." Harley wasn't sure which one Cloud chose but he would feel more comfortable if they were together.

"Sir, what if there was someone I wanted to go to basic with? Would I be able to select the same date?"

Sgt. Miller nodded, "Ah, the buddy program – would this be why you wanted to go to basic so bad?" He smiled with a small exhale, "What is the recruits name? I can look up his information."

"Cloud Strife."

Sgt. Miller looked up at him and laughed, "Figures. The other Nibel boy. I should have known. He's set out for February 15th – that's two weeks out, we recommend having at least one month before departure. Will you be ready in time?"

Harley nodded which signaled the recruiter to type on his computer more information.

"Alright," Sergeant Miller exclaimed as he turned from his keyboard and began to write information down for Harley, "You will need to be at the Costa del Sol Inn no later than 6pm. You will then go to the MEPS station the morning of the 15th of February at six-hundred hours or 6am. Once you arrive at the MEPS, you will be given a physical and finish up your military documentation. You will then be sworn in and leave for basic. I have included a list of items you will need to pack for basic. Any questions Recruit Veer?"

Harley cracked a smile, "No Sir, I'm all set." Sgt. Miller stood, signaling Harley to stand as well. A firm handshake signaled the completed enrollment process, "President Shinra thanks you for your interest in the Cadet Program. Best of luck to you." Harley gave a small nod and headed out of the recruitment office.

Harley looked down at his watch. It was almost noon, he needed to get back quickly to Nibelheim – the mayor was holding a town meeting regarding his father and he was supposed to be on stage with him.

Harley rushed to the mountain tram and made his way back to town, hoping and praying he would not be late.

\--

Towns folk were gathered around City Hall as the Mayor stepped up to the podium to speak, "With great pleasure I want to announce the start of a new trade route! Thanks to the hard work and impeccable craftsmanship of Derik Veer's product, the Great Western Trade Commission has decided to put Nibelheim as one of its trading routes!" Cheers from the townsfolk clustered the space as whistles and claps were given to Derik.

He stood strong at a towering six feet next to the Mayor, showing his charismatic smile to the town as they cheered for his success. His dark brown hair framed his face and was parted on the side and gelled back handsomely, showing his tan, chiseled face. He stood proud, wearing a two-piece gray suit, the sleeves of his crisp, white button down shirt beneath his vest were rolled to his elbows, showing off the veins in his muscular forearms. His deep emerald eyes held pride as the mayor continued to speak, "We are able to expand our inventory in our shops and the food in our homes," he turned joyously to Derik, "Thanks to you, Derik, the town of Nibelheim will be able to grow economically and successfully take its place in the trade industry!"

He ran a strong hand through his hair, "Thank you, Mayor Lockhart. I put my best effort into making a product that can protect the town and all our loved ones. I am a father that wanted to protect my family. After my beloved wife Claire passed, I couldn't live with myself. If I had a better weapon, she could be up here with me now," he paused as he gathered himself, "I will dedicate my skill to you Nibelheim! I will ensure that my weapons protect you and your loved ones for generations to come!" The town clapped erratically with excitement for its new defender.

The Mayor clapped as he approached the microphone again, "The trade route is expected to open next month. Any business owners are highly recommended to come down to City Hall and fill out applications to be included in the trades." While smiling out to the crowd, Derik saw his son weave through the crowd – late of course. This didn't sit right with him as Harley was supposed to be on stage with him. Once the Mayor dismissed the rally, Derik slithered his way to Harley.

He snatched Harley by the shoulder and through barred teeth he spat at him with a sharp, hushed voice, "Why were you late? Trying to humiliate me by showing up on your time?" Harley shook his head and apologized. Intense anger grew behind his father's eyes, but luckily it was interrupted by the stonemason.

"Hey Derik, great speech you gave. I give my peace to Claire, if only there was another way." Derik turned and saw the stonemason. He quickly changed his demeaner and shook the stonemason's hand, "Claire was the deepest love I've ever had…" Harley didn't stick around to hear the vulgar lies that erupted from his father's vile tongue – he'll deal with his father's anger later, nothing he wasn't already immune to.

He watched as his father chatted with the Mayor and some of the other townspeople. Harley was startled when a soft hand brushed his arm, a stark contrast to his father's vice grip from earlier, "Hey Harley, are you feeling...better?" He turned to see Tifa smiling at him. He removed his arm from her grasp, hoping to avoid being seen by his father.

He shifted and gave a sorrowful expression, "Sorry about yesterday Tifa. I was having a hard day and just wanted to be alone." His emerald eyes held regret. She gave a small laugh, "It's okay I guess," she gave a flirtatious smile at him, "Everyone has bad days. If you ever need someone to talk to…"

He interjected already knowing where the conversation was going, "Thank you Tifa. I really appreciate it."

She held her hands behind her back and looked at the ground shyly, "So are you doing anything tonight? I thought maybe we could go for a walk?" Her cheeks grew pink as her voice trailed off. Harley was stunned. The most beautiful girl in the town was flirting with him. He took in her appearance. Her ruby eyes shone bright as they looked off to the side bashfully. Her jet black hair looked like tendrils of silk as they brushed up against her face. Her soft pink lips were small and plumb and she held an innocence to her face. Of course, she also had other features that stood out the most. He tried to not think about that in respect for her but...damn, it was hard not to notice, especially with her form fitting light-brown dress wrapped around her. Guys would fight over her, and not the verbal fights. One guy named Bik got his teeth knocked out by another guy named Johnny. That was a fight that was talked about for weeks. Harley's ego swelled in his chest and couldn't help but feel saddened that he had to refuse her.

He gave an awkward smile and cursed Cloud in his head for the cock-block as he was meeting him at eight o'clock that night to compile plans. He signed regrettably, "Sorry Tif, I already have plans to be somewhere else. Can I get a raincheck?" She gave a soft, saddened smile and nodded as she turned to leave, "As long as your check doesn't bounce." Harley was ashamed of himself for thinking about other things of hers that might bounce, but his thought was cut short as he saw his father in the distance looking at him with rage. He was never allowed to talk to Tifa- she was off limits. His father held his reputation high and didn't want his son soiling it – he was afraid that Harley would make a fool out of himself in front of her. After catching the glance, Harley took the hint, said his goodbyes, and made his way home.

\--

Cloud's eyes glazed over at the paper in his hands - it was heavy with guilt. He walked into the General Store and greeted Mrs. Ulrich, who was busy stocking the shelves, "Afternoon Cloud. Wha' brings ye' 'ere today?" Her abrasive accent could make anyone's ears bleed.

Cloud gulped and smiled sheepishly, "I just need to fax something – mind if I use it?" He pointed over to the machine sitting on a table near the front counter, in reach of any and all customers. Mrs. Ulrich nodded eagerly, "Of course! Ye know ye needn't ask! It's th' least we can do for th' town! Wha' nice manners ye' have. I keep tellin' Cedrik how ye such a good boy takin' care of ye mother," Cloud walked over to a small the fax machine. There were only two fax machines in Nibelheim, one at City Hall and one at the General Store.

City Hall's fax machine could only be used upon a city personnel's inspection of the document, and that was a risk Cloud was not willing to take. The Ulrich's, on the other hand, didn't give a rat's ass who used it or what was sent, they just wanted to make the service available to the townsfolks. They were also never concerned with the cost of running the fax machine either, Mr. Ulrich always commented how he had connections for the office supplies. In all honesty, the fax machine just appeared one day, but he was greatful for it.

He studied the high-tech machine before he touched it. It was a state-of-the-art copy, fax, and laser printing machine all in one! How the Ulrich's got their hands on such a device he would never know. He fumbled with it and he managed to place the signed Parental Release Form down and pressed the accompanying numbers listed. The loading dock began to light up green as the page was automatically pulled up through the slot. Cloud grew anxious as it scanned. He was constantly looking over his shoulder- like someone who was in the middle of a crime.

Well, come to think of it…

A dial up tone brought Cloud to reality as the machine spat the page into the tray. Cloud took the form and waited for confirmation page - which printed shortly after. It read:

Rocket Town Military Recruiting Office Accepted Document. Please Call the Office for Further Instructions

Cloud grabbed both papers and folded them up, quickly shoving them in his pants pocket and headed out the door, politely thanking Mrs. Ulrich on his way out.

Mrs. Ulrich was still stacking cans meticulously as she screeched at Cloud, "Tell ye mother I said t' com' by t'morrow, I got some goodies for 'er!"

Cloud nodded, "Yes ma'am! Thank you against for letting me use your machine." Cloud rushed out the door as Mrs. Ulrich continued to stack cans. She fumbled with a can of beans and it thumped to the floor and rolled under the shelf. Knowing she was unable to get it, she whispered, "Well shit me a bear ye little son of a bitch."


	3. Memories

After shopping around town for some various items on his 'What to Bring to Basic' list, Harley finally made it home. He softly shut the front door and quietly walked through the living room of the two-story house. He wasn't sure if his father was home, but he was sure that there was going to be some yelling and screaming for his lateness for the event earlier that day. If it wasn't for the blown transformer on the mountain tram, he would have made it back in time, but instead he had to wait around and let the tram crew repair it. At least he was able to make the end of his father's speech. He spent the early morning finishing up a couple of projects his father left for him to do – otherwise he would have gone to the recruiting office much earlier.

His father's black dress shoes were missing, only concluding to himself he wasn't home yet from dinner with the Mayor. He tried his best to tidy up whatever he could as a clean house would give his father one less thing to complain about. He looked at the clock on the mantle which read five-thirty- he still had some time before his meeting with Cloud. He ran upstairs and laid out his items he just bought on his bed: toothpaste, shaving cream, shampoo, and long athletic socks. He pulled out the red folder from his backpack with the proud Shinra Company logo on the front with bold letters that read: Departure Packet.

He brushed the logo with his fingertips and sat on the bed. Opening the folder he saw a copy of his filled out application, a sheet with the time, date, and location of the MEPS center he would be going to, and his 'What to Bring to Basic' list.

The front door slammed, shaking some of the frames on his wall -his father was home. Panicked, Harley quickly shoved everything back into the folder and grabbed the items he bought and shoved them into his backpack and hurriedly slipped it under his bed.

"Harley," Derik called, "you gonna explain why you were late?" His rough voice traveled upstairs, dripping with hate and already slurring from the effects of alcohol.

Harley looked at himself in the mirror, "You can do this." He whispered as he turned and opened the door. His father was already waiting on the other side, startling him. A wall of alcohol greeted Harley as he blinked and shook his head trying to get use to the invading smell.

Derik leaned on the door frame with his forearm, blocking the doorway with his body, "You got some nerve boy." He pushed himself into the small room.

Harley shifted his gaze to the side while he slowly backed up, "I'm sorry - I really didn't mean to be so late." Worry filled his face, "I lost track of time!" He lied, not wanting to share his whereabouts.

Derik laughed, "Lost track of time?" He continued to walk menacingly towards Harley, eyebrows furrowed. He reached out for Harley, but Harley instinctively flinched, waiting for the punch that always followed. Derik noticed and laughed, "Trained like a dog." He lightly smacked the back of Harley's head. Harley stood stunned at his father's behavior. Normally it would be a punch to the face or be pushed up against a wall. Today, he seemed different.

His father stood tall and walked to the small bedroom window, "I've done it," he said as he unrolled the cuffs on his long-sleeve shirt," I have created something this pathetic town needs to have 'hope'" he used his hands as air quotes around the word. He smiled brightly, "Did you hear the way they cheered me on? They are going to be throwing money at me." He turned to face his son, "The good news doesn't stop there my boy," he started, "Today I worked out a deal with the mine operator," he said clapping his hands, "In return for your un-paid labor, he'll set me up with an unimaginable discount on raw material. My profit margin will triple! You're saving me hundreds of thousands boy!" Harley could hardly stomach the smell of alcohol on his breath.

Harley couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Free?" he said with disbelief, "You mean, I won't get paid?"

His father had a thick condescending tone to his voice as he advanced towards him and stood up straight, "And just what's your worth boy? You came out of a bitch in the slums. You should be proud that you'll even have a job." Harley felt the anger rising in his father. He stepped back, putting distance between them.

Derik laughed seeing this response, "You think you should be paid for work that a twelve year old can do? You're gonna be hammerin' coal for the rest of your life boy. After all," he said with a twisted smile, "the only thing your mother was good for was givin' head. Maybe you can make new friends with your mother's talent."

Harley unleashed a ball of anger and punched his father - only his father stepped out of the way and his fist went through a wall. Even when drunk, Derik was still light on his feet.

"Finally growin' some balls Harley?" Derik yelled through his gritted teeth as he reached out to grab his son. Harley knew he made a mistake as he dodged his father. Taking his chance, he bolted out of his room and turned to make for the stairs. As he placed his foot on the first step, his father called out for him, the voice sounding closer than he thought, "I sure hope one of them prisoners don't make you his bitch," he playfully and sarcastically spat.

Harley turned around and faced his father with a look of disgust on his face. Before he realized, a powerful foot hit him square in his chest. The force behind the foot send him flying backwards down the wooden stairs. The back of his head bashed on the edge of the step, splitting it opened. The force from his body threw his legs over his head causing him to tumble down the steps backwards, each bump causing him to grunt in pain. Gravity dragged his body down the last five steps, finishing splayed out on the floor on his back, his feet still resting on the final step. He tried desperately to regain himself and push up off the floor but he couldn't. The room was dizzy around him and blood continued to pool beneath him, running from the gash on the back of his head.

A shadow covered his face but his eyes refused to focus. The last thing he heard was his father cursing him, "Don't bother getting' back up."

His eyes closed and he surrendered to unconsciousness.

\--

Cloud waited impatiently on the mountain for Harley. It was already thirty minutes past their meeting time. Cloud let out an irritated puff of air. Harley was filled with passion the day before - did he have a change of heart? It didn't bother him though, he wasn't going to let anyone stop him. He stood up from his boulder and started the trek back into town.

Something in the mountain air stopped him. A soft voice was carried by the breeze. He strained his ears and heard the voice again. Curious he turned back around and followed it, walking along the pathway until he reached a glowing Mako spring. The voice was coming from Tifa who was laying on a large rock nearby, her legs crossed at the knee. Worry built in his chest as he knew she was going against her father's rules. The last time he was on the mountain with Tifa, she stepped on loose rocks on the mountainside and fell down a cliff which rendered her unconscious, leading to his reputation of a negligent boy who pushed the Mayor's daughter down the mountain. Once Tifa woke up from her unconsciousness, she had no memory of what happened. The ever present lie was that Cloud pushed her off the cliff – his motive was always different every time the story was told. Tifa ignored Cloud for months until she finally sought the truth. Even after rekindling their bond, the other boys in town made it incomprehensibly difficult for Cloud and Tifa to truly be friends. The worst part of this was he had lived under the seething scowl of Mayor Lockhart ever since. He was not willing to relive the past.

"Tifa, what are you doing here?!" Cloud warned. Tifa jumped up with shock, nearly falling on her knees until she regained herself, "Cloud?!"

Cloud grew worried as he stepped close to her and grabbed her wrist, "Really Tifa, what are you doing here? You know if you father finds out-."

She aggressively cut him off as she pulled out of his grasp, "He won't find out. That is, unless you tell him." She threatened.

Cloud sighed deeply and shook his head, "Whatever. You do what you want but I don't want to be pulled into lies again like last time." His voice grew quiet, "It's not like I'll be in town much longer," he mumbled under his breath.

Tifa turned her head, "Where are you running of to? Johnny finally chased you off?" Cloud shot her a death glare.

Tifa held up her fists in a fighting stance, "I'll take care of him!" Cloud gave a soft smile in response. One thing he liked most about Tifa was her bravery. Didn't matter the size or shape of the opponent – she would stand up for her friends.

The brunette girl sat back down on the boulder, "Are you really leaving?" Cloud's face saddened, "Uh, yeah. Doing the same thing Micah did." He said awkwardly.

Her expression changed as she remembered the boy who left for the mines after his father died, "Suitable, I guess. It doesn't seem that you are happy here in this town anyway. Ever since we were young, you always wanted to leave" Tifa stared at the stars which were slowly making their appearance as the sun sank into the earth. She was right. Cloud wore it on his face daily. Maybe things would have been different if Tifa never fell. He never felt accepted in this town after that. He wanted to go far away and start a new life - a life he could actually call his own. A life with no regrets.

Wanting to bring the attention off of him he added, "Harley is going too you know." Tifa frowned, "I know."

Cloud gasped with surprise. As if knowing what he wanted to hear, she continued, "I overheard my father talking to Mr. Veer about it. Is Mr. Ulrich taking you too?"

"Mr. Ulrich?"

Tifa nodded and tucked stray hairs behind her ear, "Apparently Mr. Ulrich is flying Harley to Corel Town. He's doing it because he needed to get some supplies anyway so it wasn't out of his way. At least that's what my dad said."

Cloud tilted his head, "Flying?"

Tifa nodded, "Mr. Ulrich flies out every now and again to pick up extra supplies for Mr. Veer and he also runs some errands for my dad. Mr. Ulrich keeps it a secret, says if everyone in town knew, they'd always be giving him work."

Cloud was mystified. If Cloud could get on that plane, it would greatly reduce his traveling time. Unfortunately, the mountain tram was still being built to Corel Town, it was projected being done by the end of the year but that did Cloud no good. His original plan was to rent a buggy in Rocket Town and drive to the ferry which would take him to the other side of Corel Town. After that, take a small three-hour mountain hike to Corel town but flying would save him an incredible amount of time and energy, twenty hours to be exact.

His thought was cut short by a cry for help from Tifa

"Cloud! We have company!" Cloud turned his head and saw a Nibel Wolf perched high on a cliff looking at them dangerously. It quickly jumped down the cliff edges and landed in front of their only path into town. Cloud protectively placed his arm in front of Tifa.

"Go, go somewhere safe!" Cloud commanded

Tifa shook her head, "And leave you alone?" Cloud yelled at her with frustration, "I don't want it to happen again" he bellowed, reminding her of her fall five years ago.

"Just leave!" Tifa kept her mouth shut and decided not to fight this time. She turned and disappeared further up the mountain.

The Nibel Wolf growled menacingly at Cloud. Its mouth hung opened, baring its blood-stained fangs. Saliva dripped from each side of its mouth, clinging to its dark, gray fur. It looked as if it hadn't eaten in days. It snapped its sharp fangs twice before stepping closer to Cloud. Blue eyes darted around swiftly, looking around for something to chase the wolf off with, the only thing he could find were rocks. He couldn't let the wolf get any closer to him. He remembered the saying he was taught as a child:

If a wolf stares you down, don't turn around. Make a commotion, need not waste a potion.

A low, guttural growl sounded from the wolf. The wolf slowly inched closer and closer to Cloud. He wanted to piss himself. The wolf continued to push forward, licking its teeth. Shaking but controlling his nerves, Cloud stood his ground and began yelling at it, clapping his hands to make more noise in hopes of scaring the beast off.

The wolf's growl grew louder as it began to crawl towards Cloud. Come on, keep going. He told himself as he continued to scream and growl at the wolf. He kept up with his aggressive tendencies but the wolf's eyes narrowed and its head dipped low, ready for the strike.

"Get away from me!" Cloud shouted at the top of his lungs, causing his face to flush red. He made himself as big as possible, lifting his arms above his head. Still not backing down, the wolf bared its teeth even more. Cloud picked up rocks and began to smash them together and eventually began to throw them at the wolf's feet.

Bingo

The wolf began to back up, not liking the action. Cloud continued and began to feel empowered, regaining control of the situation. Cloud took his jacket off and began to swing it above his head frantically. The wolf began to flinch and gave a small whine and closed its mouth, licking its salivating gums. Seeing Cloud as a fight it could lose, it turned and vanished into the mountain side, waiting for the next victim.

Cloud exhaled as he bent over and rested his hands on his knees. He really needed to get into shape if a Nibel Wolf could take that much out of him. He gathered himself and heard footsteps running behind him.

"Cloud! You're safe!" Tifa wrapped her arms around him. Cloud's eyes grew big and he quickly broke the embrace. Tifa smiled at him, "I owe you!"

Cloud smiled, "At least this time you'll remember." Tifa playfully pushed him and they headed down the mountain quickly, not wanting to stick around and push their luck.

\--

"Well it's about fucking goddamn time." Cedrik whispered to himself as he heard banging on the front door. Their inventory delivery was finally here, only two hours after closing. He made his way to the banging door as he welcomed the young twenty-two year old kid wearing loose clothing and a gray baseball cap embroidered with 'Jager's Trading Company' in bold white font.

"Did you get lost?! It's fucken' eight twenty!" Cedrik snatched the invoice from the young man's hands.

"Hey man no worries - I'm doing my best here, I can't exactly snap my fingers yeah?" The young man opened the double doors on the back of the truck and began to lift boxes of items and place them onto the cobblestone pavement.

"You got quite the load Sir. Why so much this time?" Cedrick checked the invoice paper, looking at the bottom total for six-thousand gil. He rolled his eyes, "We've been busy." He whispered to himself, this is going to take forever. As if the goddess herself heard his plea, he saw blonde, spiky hair walking in the distance.

"Boy!" he hollered at Cloud. Cloud stopped in his tracks and looked over at Cedrik standing and waving in the General Store's entrance.

"Hey Mr. Ulrich!" Cloud spoke happily as he ran over.

Cedrik put his hand on the boy's shoulder, "Cloud, my delivery came late today," he side-eyed the delivery driver, "and I'm just too damn tired to take all these boxes to back storage. You want to help out? I'll give you twenty gil." Cloud shrugged and took the offer.

"These," he motioned to roughly thirteen boxes all different sizes, "go to the back storage." Cloud nodded in affirmation, "and these," he said pointing to twenty smaller produce boxes," go in the walk-in cooler in the storage area." Cloud headed near the truck and picked up a box, nodding politely at the delivery guy which earned him a response, "Hey, I've seen you somewhere."

"What?" Cloud looked up with doubt on his face.

He shrugged, "You look familiar. Ever been to Cosmo Canyon?" Cloud shook his head no, "Maybe you got me confused with someone else?"

"Nah I've definitely seen you. Couldn't forget seeing that Chocobo ass on your head." Cedrik let out a single laugh at the comment. Cloud narrowed his eyes and picked up a cardboard box labeled 'Rockett's Baking Powder' and headed for the storage area.

"Ah that's it" he exclaimed after seeing the box, "Rocket Town. You were at the recruitment office" The driver smiled.

Cloud's eyes grew big, "No, that's impossible. I-I've never been there." He hurried to drop off the box.

"No I saw you. You were sitting in the-."

"You have me mistaken for someone else." Cedrik was slightly taken aback by Cloud's sternness. He was never known for assertion.

Cedrik looked over at the driver, "Recruiting office?" He squinted his eyes as he questioned. Cloud had already disappeared into the storage.

"Yeah, I was doing a water delivery for 'em, you know, the jug water coolers - and saw that little guy in the waiting room." He spoke in a lower register.

Cedrik cracked his neck, "I'm having a hard time believing you, the boy said he wasn't there."

The young man held his hands up in defense, "I remembered thinking 'why would a small boy like that sign up for the military'. I just assumed maybe he wanted to put on some muscle for the ladies," he winked as he unloaded the last box, turned and shut the trunk of his truck, "Well, maybe I'm wrong." He waited for Cedrik to write the six-thousand gil check for the product. "I guess we'll never know then." Cedrik said as he handed over the check and the signed merchant copy of the invoice.

He grabbed it, "I'll be seeing you Mr. Ulrich." The young man tipped his hat and got in his truck.

"Hey," Cedrik yelled, "be earlier next time!" The driver waved from his widow and drove off.

Thirty-minutes later, Cloud rounded the corner after putting the last box in storage. Cedrik was digging around in his pocket for gil and handed it to Cloud.

"Like I promised, twenty gil." He gave Cloud the gil and went back to work as if nothing happened, leaving Cloud standing at the register stunned and sick at his stomach – hoping he wasn't' found out. He didn't move immediately which caused Cedrik to turn around, "What? Twenty ain't enough?" His deep voice resonated.

Cloud put his hands up defensively, "No, no sir." He stood awkwardly, clearly wanting to say something. Noticing this, Cedrik ushered him, "Speak boy, it's already past my bedtime and I don't need you delaying me."

Cloud began, "I uh, I just, I heard you were taking Harley to Corel Town. I don't want to sound imposing, but," he paused and looked at Cedrik, trying to read him, "I also will be going to work in the mines. If it is isn't a burden to you, would you mind if I came along for the ride? I just don't think I could do the mountain trek on my own."

Cedrik rustled though boxes, "The baker's boy told you that huh? His father asked me to take him too but, I think I offended him by saying he was past the allotted weight limit." Cloud smiled, acting like the baker's boy did give him that information - no need to bring Tifa into this.

Cedrik stood up, "So, the mines is it?" The small talk began, "Your mother mentioned something of the like earlier today. I don't see a problem with it, just don't pack overly heavy - my girl's got a weight limit." Cedrik smiled though his toothpick. Cloud turned and saw a small television on a circular breakfast table in the corner of the shop – Mrs. Ulrich was often seen eating her morning strudels on the same table. The television was showing recaps of the peace talks between Shinra and Wutai. Cloud stared at he read the captions.

"Huh, looks like war is brewing." Cedrik spoke.

"I never get to see the news much. I've heard blips here and there," he turned to Cedrik, "what's been going on, Sir?" Cedrik motioned Cloud over to the same table with strudel residue. He pulled out two chairs for them to sit.

Cedrik cleared his throat, "A lot. All these reactors popping up all over the place and Shinra's getting greedy. The President is demanding Wutai to build a reactor, but they are resisting. From what I know about Shinra, he hates the word 'no'"

"Why won't Wutai just let him build the reactor?" Cloud asked.

Cedrik stood up and walked over to a small electric kettle and began to heat water, "Kisaragi, the current Wutai leader, doesn't want Shinra encroaching on his land. Can't say that I blame the guy," he pulled two mugs from a cabinet, "I ain't going to let you sit here without a drink. You want some tea?" Cloud nodded, thankful for the generosity.

"As a preface boy, don't be telling your mom about us talking today. I sorely pissed her off earlier and I'm really not looking forward to hearing more lectures from her."

Cloud rolled his eyes, "What was it this time?" Cloud continued to watch the television. Cedrik sat down at the table with two mugs, "You," he took the remote and turned up the volume, "it's always you."

"Talks of war are on the horizon as General Heidegger of the Public Safety Division leaves Wutai unsatisfied early this morning," the newscaster reported, "Godo Kisaragi continued to challenge Shinra's demands, creating a rift between the states. It is unclear what the talks were about but we will continue to update as we find out more information." The news program cut to a burly man in a green suit stepping into helicopter – the great Wutai forest surrounding him.

Cloud's body went rigid when he saw who accompanied him. Silver hair swayed side to side as the tall, tranquil man walked beside the General. Cloud was taken aback with the power that radiated from him. He carried himself with such charisma and a proud bearing that he was intimidated by him just watching him on a small screen. He hadn't seen anything about Sephiroth since he was promoted to First Class. Cloud couldn't help but think how incredibly handsome he was – and not to mention how composed he looked.

"He's something else." Cedrik said as he sipped his tea. He looked over at Cloud who was practically drooling at the mouth, "They say if Shinra does go to war, he's gonna be the one to lead them to victory." He noticed Cloud hadn't even taken a drink of his tea, probably still in awe of the Soldier, "Hey," he nudged Cloud with his foot, "drink your tea - don't want it to go to waste." Cloud nodded and took a sip.

"I wish I could be like him one day." Cloud quietly spoke, still sipping on his hot beverage.

"It's impossible with that mother of yours." Cedrik said spitefully under his breath. Cloud glanced at the older man and noticed the look of regret washing over his face.

"Sorry boy, I shouldn't have said that."

"No, you're right." Cloud started, "Why won't she let me have the life I want? I mean," he took another sip, "I don't want to stay in this town. I want adventure - I want to be a hero." Cloud's eyes brightened as he stared at Cedrik.

Cloud hung his head as he was dwelling on his mother. His head jolted when he heard a soft question, "you still want to join, don't you?"

Cloud wasn't sure how to answer. He used to boldly tell Cedrik he wanted to join when he was younger, but as he grew older, his mother brainwashed him and tried to put out his burning, passionate flame. What she didn't know was that Cloud kept what little flame there was lit, it never went away.

Scared, Cloud confided in Cedrik, "Yes Sir, I want to join."

A growl came from his throat, "The hardest thing in life is to have a passion for something and be held back by someone you love. What do you choose – you or the loved one?" A strange emotion appeared on Cedrik's face, showing an unspoken burden.

He stood up and walked over to the community fax machine, the same one Cloud used earlier that day. After pressing of a couple of buttons, a page printed from the fax.

"I was looking for a copy of an invoice I send earlier today and I happened to print out the memory of everything that was faxed from today." His voice grew stern and Cloud's eyes grew to the size of saucers, "Imagine my surprise when this little shit popped out." Cedrik walked over and sat back down, sliding the page over to Cloud.

Cloud dropped his head in this hands. His heart was in his throat as he stared at his Parental Release Form. He spoke the first thing that come to his mind, "Please, don't tell my mom."

Cedrik shook his head, "With how things are between us, it might be awhile before we speak." Cloud tried to breathe but he felt his lungs were collapsing on themselves.

"Cloud, this - is forgery," he said referring to the document, "and if caught, it is five years in prison." Cloud nodded slowly, "Yes sir, I know."

"You know, and yet you still did forged her signature," a fatherly tone took over his voice, "You must really be wanting to join. When the military finds out about this signature, they will arrest you and you'll find yourself in prison. That's not even scratching the surface of what else they can do."

Cloud looked up, "if I'm found out."

Cedrik shook his head, "When. The second Silva catches wind of this she's going straight to a lawyer. You're trying to make this illegal, forged document the foundation of your military career. You can't build an honorable military career on something like this Cloud. You will fall."

"The Turks do it."

Cedrik shook his head and gave a short laugh, "The Turks are the least honorable people I've ever met. They are also a large branch in the Shinra Company that have the means to do these things and they get paid by the fatty in the red suit to cover up conspiracies and the like." He paused and slowed the speed of his words, putting a serious tone to them, "They also do a lot of things that put them in grave danger and if they don't do a good job covering their tracks…" Cedrik pulled one finger across his neck.

"But it's possible." Cloud said, ignoring the last part.

Cedrik nodded slowly knowing it was useless arguing, "Yes, it's possible."

Cloud wrapped both hands around his mug as he grew vulnerable with Cedrik, "I want to at least try and see if this military thing is right for me. If not, I will come home and act like the mines weren't right for me - I'll put it all behind me."

"And if it is right for you? What then?" Cedrik prodded.

Cloud shrugged, "She won't check for me in the mines. If I just keep calling her and acting like I'm there, she'll be fine. I can also tell her I'm being relocated to the Mythril Mines for added distance - maybe even so far as Icicle Inn. As long as I can make it realistic, she'll never find out. Maybe even you can tell her you saw me!"

"Ay ay ay!" he stopped Cloud, "Don't bring me in on this. I'm already stickin' my neck out to get you there." Cedrik's eyes grew heavy with concern for Cloud.

Cloud looked down with sad eyes "Sorry Sir, you're right." Silence fell between them for a second before Cloud spoke again, "Document's get lost all the time, right?"

Cedrik rolled his eyes "You're right, documents are lost all the time - but for the right people Cloud, not some kid coming straight from basic." he pressed into his temples with his hands, "You're gonna really have to make something of yourself for someone to risk their career like that for you."

Cloud leaned back in his chair, "That's the plan."

Cedrik rubbed his hands on his face, clearly stressed about the situation. For as long as Cloud could remember, Cedrik took the role of a fatherly figure to him once his father died. His mother began to distance them from one another when Cloud started showing interest in the Shinra Company. Cedrik sat in silence as Cloud turned back to the television, which was now showing coverage of President Shinra walking alongside the Mayor of Kalm, clearly a staged showing for media.

Cedrik finally spoke, "You don't need me to take you to Corel. You need me to take you to Costa del Sol."

Cloud looked over at Cedrik. He was more of talking to himself than to Cloud. Cedrik leaned back in his chair and began to rub his chin stubble. He reached over to a small drawer and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. To Cloud's surprise, Cedrik slowly took one out of the pack, placed it between his lips, and lit it with a small lighter.

Cloud softy spoke, "I thought you quit smoking."

Cedrik took a long drag on his cigarette and laughed through a closed mouth. He smoothly let the smoke release from his mouth, "I never stopped," another crackle from the drag on his cigarette, "Well I guess we all have our secrets, right boy?" Cedrik shot a glance of dissatisfaction at Cloud, clearly upset with his action.

The cigarette did not stay long in Cedrik's mouth. The walls began to shake violently with an unseen force and a thunderous roar rolled though the sky. The sound of mechanical winds caused Cloud to cover his ears as the loud, deep vibrations made him feel as if his ear drums would explode. He could feel his core shaking from within with the force coming from above. Four deafening roars of engines hissed past the shop overhead. Within a second, the shaking stopped, Cloud's ears pulsing from the sudden silence. Cloud glanced out the window and saw townspeople running out of their houses and looking in the sky with fear and confusion on their faces.

Cedrik remained sitting in his chair, lighting another cigarette. Cloud was stunned with Cedrik's calmness, "You aren't wondering what that was?!"

He shook his head, "I know what that was." He said with a twang, "Clearly Shinra didn't like what happened in those peace talks and he's sending Wutai some," he paused, "persuasion."

Not knowing what Cedrik was talking about, Cloud blinked in confusion. Cedrik leaned forward on the table, "F-35's, one of Shinra's finest fighter jets. My guess coming from Junon over to Wutai." He stood up and grabbed the mugs, "You better get home boy, your mother's probably having a panic attack." Cloud nodded in agreement and headed out the door.

War was coming.

\--

Cloud lied in bed that night thinking about his recent talk with Cedrik. He smiled with happiness knowing that he was able to go to Costa del Sol safely but grew nervous with the jets that flew overhead. If war was coming, would he be in the middle of it? He sat up in bed when he heard soft knocks on his window. He slowly got out of bed and crept to the sill. His eyes widened when he saw Harley outside. He opened his window and yelled in a hushed voice from the second floor, "You're going to wake my mom!"

Harley stared at him, "Let me in!"

Cloud shook his head and yelled again, "No, you are going to wake my mom! And, I'm pissed! You never showed!" Another rock was thrown, this time hitting Cloud in the head. Cloud muttered an 'ouch' and rubbed his head, now growing angry at Harley.

"Just let me in or I'll do it again." Harley quietly yelled as he held a rock ready to throw. Cloud moved his body around in a frustrated gesture and went downstairs to let him in the front door.

"Get to my room, quickly!" they both scurried up the stairs. Once in the room, Cloud noticed hair missing from the back of Harley's head, "What happened to you?"

"My dad kicked me down the fuckin' stairs! I blacked out and woke up maybe an hour ago."

Cloud instantly grabbed Harley, "What!? Do you need the doctor?"

Harley shook his head, "Nah, the laceration isn't too deep. I just need to keep it wrapped and I'll be good to go."

Cloud doubtfully questioned him, "You passed out. You need a doctor." He pressed

"No Cloud, what I need is a father that doesn't do this shit!" Harley's eyes flared with anger. Cloud took it as a sign to keep his thoughts to himself. Desperately wanting to climb out of the awkward situation he created, he changed the subject, "I talked to Mr. Ulrich today, he's going to take me to Costa del Sol!"

Harley looked at him bewildered, "Costa del Sol?! Does he know?"

Cloud nodded regrettably, "Yeah, he found my release form. I'm an idiot and didn't know that you can pull memory from fax machines." The expression on Harley's face showed that Harley didn't know that information either.

Harley sat on Cloud's bed, "I'm still going to Corel Town. I gotta think of something – I don't want Mr. Ulrich to know about my dad or else I would probably come clean with him." He stared at the wall, "I really don't want to go back home."

Cloud nudged his shoulder, "You can stay here tonight if you'd like. Honestly any night, I won't mind."

Harley gave a soft, genuine smile, "I'd really appreciate that." Cloud was already giving him a worn t-shirt and basketball shorts to change into. When Harley returned, Cloud was lying on blankets on the floor, giving Harley his bed.

"Cloud, I can sleep on the floor - it isn't a problem."

"I think your body needs something softer than the floor today. I'll be fine - my back starts hurting if I lay on something soft too long." Cloud rolled back over on his side.

The stillness could be heard between them until a soft voice broke through, "The town people are whispering about some fighter jets that flew over, know anything about it?"

Cloud turned on his back, "Mr. Ulrich said Shinra might be entering a war with Wutai. That was Shinra sending some force to help them decide." Rustling was heard as a response

"Do you think they will send us to war?" Harley asked stoically.

"Have you seen my muscles?" Cloud laughed, "They sure as hell won't be sending me."

Harley flexed, "Yeah, I might be with you there too." Harley had lean muscle from the labor he put in from the shop but he definitely wasn't anywhere near the size of the Soldier he saw earlier.

Harley exhaled as he felt sleep began to take over. Shortly after, soft snores filled the air. Cloud lay curled up on the floor with his back facing Harley - hiding the soft smile on his face. After all these years of bitter loneliness, Cloud was finally able to feel the warmth of a friend.


	4. Standards

The towering snow-covered mountains enclosed the small white Cessna that was currently being prepared for takeoff. Cedrik was running through a pre-flight checklist and chatting with Derik, Harley was standing far away to keep his distance from his father. Blonde spiky hair appeared from the entrance gate and came bouncing in the wind followed by a feminine figure.

"Look who's finally here, the Strife's." Derik laughed, "At this point, there probably isn't any more coal left to mine." He chided to Cedrik

Cedrik's chiseled face cracked a smile, "Silva probably blockaded the poor boy in the house and refused to let him leave. I bet he climbed out a window." Silva's reputation of being overprotective was a running joke that many of the men poked fun at. It was shocking news when it came out about Cloud going to Corel Town to work in the mining field - there were bets being placed on how long Silva would last before telling Cloud to come back. Derik placed twenty gil that she would break after one month, Cedrik shamefully placed fifty gil on two weeks - clearly before knowing Cloud's true intentions. He was still seething from the money he will lose thanks to Cloud and his sudden escapade to the military.

"Cedrik, ye best be careful with these boys. If I hear anything-." Silva's finger was already in his face.

He cut her off, "I've been doing this since I was a boy Silva." He didn't bother making eye contact with her as he still felt the sting of their last conversation. She puffed air out in response. Cedrik looked over at Cloud and gestured to the plane with a quick turn of his head, "Put your bags in the trunk space." Harley walked over to help Cloud out. Grabbing one of the duffel bags, Harley smoothly slid it next to his. They shared a quick glance at each other. Cloud grew queasy as he noticed a fresh gash above Harley's left eyebrow. Seeing Cloud's worried expression, Harley shook his head to show his unwillingness to talk about it. Harley glanced up and saw his father's hateful eyes boring into him. He quickly broke eye contact and walked around to the other side of the plane, hiding from his father's gaze.

"I don't want tah hear about my son crashin' because the pilot ran into a cloud!" Cedrik rolled his eyes, "Good god Silva, what do you think clouds are made of - plaster?! They're puffs of air - you just fly through 'em for Odin's sake." His eyes grew wide with disbelief.

"Oh I'm sorry mistah Pilot, I should've known wha' it's like to fly! I do it so often! Maybe I should fly the boy's then?! I'll just strap 'em to me back and take-off!"

"Finally dusting off your old broomstick, are you?" Cedrik spat.

Derik tried hard to hide his grin. He placed a hand on Silva's shoulder as she was readying her comeback, "Enough. I trust him, you should too. He's flown in worse conditions I'm sure."

A loud pixelated ring broke the tension. Cedrik checked his jacket pocket and pulled out a phone and walked off as he answered it, "Brian, what can I do for you?" He trailed off as distance muffled his voice.

Silva turned to Derik and attempted to lighten the mood, "Harley is such a great boy - always werkin' hard with you. You should be very proud."

Derik's handsome face glowed as he smiled and his piercing green eyes lit up, "I am a man with high expectation of my family. You set your barriers and expectations and let them follow them. When they get out of line, you discipline them," he lightly punched his hand, "my boy knows not to cross me. It's out of respect. It's just so unfortunate that Cloud doesn't have a father figure to show him discipline."

Silva scrunched her eyebrows at his statement, wondering how to take what he said. Cedrik came back and changed the subject just in time, "Lockhart needs me to get more supplies for him. You still need the case of steel right Derik?"

A nod followed, "You should get a great discount on it - Sabine has cut us a great deal on supplies from here on out. A perfect opportunity to buy in bulk."

"Why is that?" Cedrik wondered.

Derik shook his head, "Longtime friends I guess," he checked his watch, "you better be off - you don't want Sabine to be waiting on them."

Cedrik agreed and whistled through his teeth to get Harley and Cloud's attention, "Alright boys, get in and buckle your seatbelts. We have a two-hour flight to Corel and a storm is coming in, I don't want to be caught in it." This statement made Silva's eyes widen

"Storm?! Ye really are gonna kill me son?" Derik stepped in front of Silva to cut her off. Silva was taken aback by his response but knew to back down.

"Mom," Cloud called, "we'll pull up over the storm, it's fine. We need to leave now." He ran up to her and gave her one last hug, her head reaching his chest. Silva closed her eyes as she hugged her son for the last time, "I am so proud of ye. Yer an honest boy, always tryin' tah do right by me. Yer goin' tah do great things my love."

Cloud pushed down the guilt rising his stomach. He smiled and headed to the plane. Cedrik closed his pilot manual and opened the pilot-side door. After he made sure Cloud and Harley had their headsets on and their seatbelts buckled, he began to press buttons and pull levers on the planes console. Slowly the front propeller came to life as it began to turn into a transparent white with the speed of the blades. He slammed his side door shut and raised a hand at Derik and Silva signaling goodbye. His gesture was returned though the window and he continued to adjust knobs and enter letter and number codes into his center console.

Cloud looked out his window as his mom and waved. She blew him a motherly kiss as the plane lurched into motion. She began to fade behind the plane as they started moving down the small makeshift dirt runway. Slowly the plane began to lift off into the sky with a slight back and forth wobbling as the ground became mere flashes of green. Cloud and Harley both jumped as they heard Cedrik's distorted voice speaking directly into their ears, "Cessna 62541F requesting weather."

After a brief transmission static, an unknown voice responded, "Cessna 62541F cloudy with storm approaching, please be advised. Switch frequency to 133.43 for flight path."

He repeated, "Cessna 62541F frequency switch to 133.43 affirmative. Thank you and have a good day."

Cloud and Harley were in awe of the confusing lingo spoken between Cedrik and a disembodied voice, "Who was that?" Harley said over the loud, purring engine, his voice distorted from feeding into the headsets microphone.

"Air Traffic Control - you think they let us fly without any help?" Cedrik was writing something down in his book and began to speak the same fluent language again after setting the designated frequency. The boys remained quiet, scared to intervene for fear of disrupting Cedrik's focus.

"Alright, we're all set. We are expected to land at Costa del Sol in three-hours." Cloud gave a saddened glance over to Harley who had his head bowed, "We'll drop Cloud off first and then on the way back, we'll go to Corel Town and drop Harley off."

The sound of retching caused Cedrik to check his console mirror. Cloud was in the back of the plane throwing up into a bag. Harley's face was scrunched as he tried to console his friend. Cloud's body continued to lurch with bile coming up from his stomach.

"What the fuck you doing boy?!" Cedrik yelled as he gave Cloud napkins to wipe his face. He felt around for a small side compartment on his door and grabbed more air-sickness bags and shoved them at Harley, "Keep it contained," he directed at Harley, "I would rather not have to pull cleaning duty." His deep voice boomed over the headset.

"I-I guess I-," Cloud hurled into the bag again. He pulled his microphone away from his mouth earlier during the first expulsion, so Harley and Cedrik were forced to lip read due to the engine being incredibly loud.

Cedrik shook his head, "You have motion sickness don't you." Cloud's retching sounds continued to fill the plane. Cloud bent down with his head between his knees and Harley began to pat his back in comfort. Cedrik passed back a bottle of water which Harley took and gave to Cloud. Taking deeps breaths, Cloud eventually was able to fight the queasy feeling and fell asleep, exhausted from all his vomiting.

"Thank god." Cedrik quipped, "I was about to eject him." He said playfully, "it costs an arm and a leg to get vomit cleaned from the upholstery." Harley grinned but also felt queasy, but for a different reason than motion sickness.

Thirty minutes passed as silence fell between them. The entire flight thus far, Harley was contemplating how to get Cedrik to drop him with Cloud at Costa del Sol. Looking out the window felt liberating to Harley. I wish you could see this mom, he thought. The blue mountains stood tall, peaking from the clouds. He never saw the mountains from this view before. It was so refreshing and awe-inspiring to see the height of the mountains. He felt as if he could reach out and touch the peaks. Small light puffs of clouds would vanish once the airplane whisked them away, like cotton candy dropped in water. He forced himself to refocus his mind on the problem at hand. He had to successfully convince Cedrik, he had to do this - for his mother.

He began with his voice cracking, the silence taking its toll on his throat, "Mr. Ulrich there is something I need to tell you."

Cedrik looked at Harley in his console mirror again and saw a stressed expression on his face as if he was battling something from within. Cedrik closed his eyes and took a deep breath, getting ready for a blow.

"I need to go to Costa del Sol too, Mr. Ulrich." The steady hum of the engine filled the awkward space between them.

It was clear that the position these boys were putting him in was undesirable. He was already stimulating Cloud's illegal military endeavor; now he was burdened with Derik's son. He hit the steering wheel in a burst of frustration, causing Harley to jump in surprise.

The words came stern from his mouth, "Why can't you boy's grow some fuckin' balls and tell the truth to your own damned parents." Cedrik's face turned stone cold, shaking his head in disbelief.

Harley was afraid - he was thirty-thousand feet in the air giving a confession to Cedrik, who was clearly upset. He suddenly began to regret opening his mouth.

Cedrik ran his hand through his blonde hair, chewing harder on his toothpick, "Y'all can't tell the damn truth so you push the burden of lying on me. I'm a goddamn adult for shit sake and here I am getting muddled in elementary bullshit." His eyes shifted back to the reflection of Harley, "And just what the fucky duck is your reason?" Each word was laced with anger digging into Harley's core.

Harley scrunched his face trying to hold back emotions, "I-I can't tell you." He twisted his clammy hands together in his lap as he bit the inside of his lip anxiously.

"Well then I sure as hell can't let you get off at Costa del Sol, I told your dad that I was taking you to Corel Town so you're going to Corel Town. Unless you give me a damn good reason why I need to otherwise, your new home will be in the fuckin' desert." Cedrik calmly spoke as he controlled his temper after his initial outburst.

Harley debated telling the truth about his father. It was a hard decision since Cedrik and Derik were close with each other due to business; they would grow even closer with the new trade route. Not only that, he was sure that Cedrik was the type of man that would confront his father. He decided to go a different route to try and not give his father away, "The Mine Operator offered my dad a large discount on supplies if I work for free."

Cedrik was stunned for a moment. He pursed his lips and tried to clarify with a doubtful tone, "Are you sure?" Harley nodded and then realized Cedrik probably couldn't see him, so he added a soft 'yes'.

"So it isn't because we are 'longtime friends'." Cedrik scoffed as he spoke out loud - more so to himself. Free labor in the mines was only given to convicts, period. There were always protests about this treatment of prisoners but President Shinra and his politicians always turned an eye away, after all, most of the prisoners working had life sentences - who cared? To give an innocent seventeen-year old boy unpaid labor was a prison sentence in itself. The mining business was a dangerous path and should at least pay well for the peril workers were placed in. Derik clearly hid this information from Cedrik, not wanting to damage his reputation as a 'good' father and possibly avoid Cedrik's aggression altogether. Cedrik slowly began to rethink his image of Derik, but it was too soon and not enough evidence to make an opinion on the matter - unless Harley could create a strong case.

"Let me take a wild guess - you enlisted too along with your partner in crime." He motioned back toward the sleeping Cloud who still had a small bit of vomit on his lip. Noticing this, Harley quickly took a napkin and wiped it without waking him.

Harley mustered up enough courage to confront this head on, he was already this far in, he had nothing to fear expect being dropped off at Corel and possibly being beaten to death by his father. Hopefully by that time, he would just run away for good, "My dad is a different man at home," he said in a slow and dark tone, "He plays this charismatic, hard-working charade in front of the town, but once he gets home- he changes. I can't take being around him anymore - it's in my best interest to leave." He trailed off, still scared to tell Cedrik upfront about his father's abuse.

Cedrik listened to the deep roar of the engine as he gathered what to say next. He signaled Harley to move up to the front seat, providing a tough but achievable feat due to the small compact design of the plane. He settled in the passenger seat and was instantly impressed by the view from the front, which was an incredible difference from just a small side window.

Minutes passed as they sat in silence again, both not knowing what to say - or perhaps knowing the best response was nothing. Cedrik placed the plane on autopilot so he could focus his attention to the situation at hand, "Look, I don't know the relationship between you and your dad and I don't know what goes on at home. If I go through and drop your ass off at Costa and not tell him, I'm part of this lie. You're better off coming clean to him and being upfront. You need to tell him that you are going to the military. You are involving too many people in this."

Harley pulled back brunette hair and pointed to the gash above his left eyebrow, unable to make any words come out, his hand was shaking with adrenaline he wasn't aware was pumping in him. He eventually muttered, "I don't want to end up like my mom."

Cedrik made the connection and a fatherly sadness squeezed tightly around his heart. Was Derik abusing his son? What about his late wife Claire? If Harley was speaking the truth, his first instinct was to confront Derik and peel the skin off his skull, but the civilian side of his mind needed to find more substantial proof. That is, until Harley provided that exact proof.

Shakily Harley spoke, "I take pictures of the bruises and cuts, just in case." He reluctantly stuck his phone in the air, signaling for Cedrik to take it. For the first time, Cedrik did not think he could handle the pictures he might see. After all the blood and gore he handled in his life, the abuse a son endures from his father is not something he could tolerate. He declined.

"I'm stuck. I don't know what to do. Hiding Cloud in the mines, easy- but hiding you, especially after what you told me, will be impossible. You have Sabine that will be expecting you and keeping a watchful eye. Honestly, I should just go and take care of Derik personally."

"No," Harley firmly stated, "he's mine."

Cedrik's sharp blue eyes locked onto fiery green ones. The energy behind Harley's eyes was that of a battered boy that could take no more and wanted to put an end to it. Since Harley seemed that he was trying to take control of the situation, Cedrik made his decision.

He flipped the communication switch and changed his flight path to Corel Town. He knew needed to handle things with the Mine Operator before dropping Harley at Costa del Sol.

\--

Sand was everywhere. Everywhere. The plane was parked on the outskirts of town on a small patchy runway that shouldn't be called as such. A pilot of lesser skills would easily crash on the loose pavement. A small construction project was being finished with haste in the far distance of the town. Gold plating was the foundation of the tower that had several branches with enormous saucers on top of each limb. A giant billboard stating 'Coming Soon: The Gold Saucer' was placed in front of the construction site. By the looks of it, it would be opened in a couple of months. Corel Town was already engulfed in its shadow. Cloud pulled himself out of the plane to stretch his legs, hoping it would calm his motion sickness - Harley remained in the cabin, praying for a miracle. Cloud was not a fan of the dry, suffocating air which felt toxic to him after breathing the fresh, crisp mountain air his entire life. He made a face of disgust as he pulled the collar of his shirt over his mouth attempting to keep the sand out.

"Both of you stay here. I'll be back." Cedrik turned and headed into town.

Corel town was a stark difference from Nibelheim. Small houses were dotting the roads in no particular pattern. The war-torn man swiftly began the walk to the Merchants Gallery - a large warehouse which was a buying and selling hub for merchants - and also where Sabine would most likely be. Cedrik pushed the heavy doors and entered, running into a large chain-linked gate which blocked the merchant area of the building. A speaker box was to the right of the door, "Hello Sir," it spoke, "What business do you have today?"

Cedrik pushed the button to speak while feeling tight in the small box, "I'm here for Sabine."

"Please state your name and the town you are from."

Cedrik rolled his eyes at the new technology. It used to be open to anyone who walked in, but the past year many thieves have been breaking in and stealing high valued metals and materials thus causing the electronic gate to be installed.

"Cedrik Ulrich from Nibelheim."

"Thank you, Sir, one moment please." Cedrik stood in the small entryway looking through the metal holes of the gate. What felt like several minutes, there was a buzz and an unlocking sound, "Thank you for your patience, please step inside!"

Cedrik pushed the gate open and walked into the large room. Merchandise was stacked from floor to ceiling. Other merchants were already inside shopping the individual stores. The far left side of the warehouse held raw materials and the right hand side were premade items like weapons, armor, and general goods. Tables and tables of inventory filled the giant space. To buy, a merchant would simply take an order card and write what they needed and take it to one of the designated counters for an associate to gather the inventory. It worked like a well-oiled machine.

A large picture of a stout man was on display in the middle of the back wall with the name 'Sabine Colton' engraved on the gold plate beneath it. He had short, curly brown hair and rounded features with dark-brown eyes. Cedrik turned his head slightly when he was greeted from a distance.

"Look who it is! How you been Ceddy?" Knowing the voice and the thick foreign accent, Cedrik turned completely around and saw the same man from the picture hanging on the wall: Sabine Colton, the Corel Town Mine Operator.

The jovial man was born and raised in the Northern snowy city of Krilheit, a mining town in the cold, winter mountains. After a civil war destroyed the city, the Colton family was forced to flee from their hometown leaving their barren home to waste and be devoured by the snow. After many decades of trying to set roots and rebuild what they lost, Alkon Colton, Sabine's great-great grandfather, set to create the small mining town of Corel. Generations later, it was now in the hands of Sabine.

Sabine was also a firm creature of habit, always wearing the same outfits for years, brown leather loafers, dark brown slacks, a light yellow short-sleeved button up, and a gold watch that adorned his left wrist. A beer belly pressing against the buttons of his shirt visibly finished his ensemble. His accent was heavy with rolling r's and choppy, stern words. He was also known to shout 'Blyad' on occasion.

Cedrik nodded his head, "Came for some supplies, heard you got some nice steel in. Mind if I have a look?"

"Always happy you come, you cleared out my stock last time. I hope blacksmith friend need supplies?" A flash of mischief sparked in his eyes.

The heat of the city caused Cedrik to cumulate a sheen of sweat, "That's the plan." His deep voice dragged over his tongue.

Eager to create small talk, the Mine Operator filled the air, "Gold Saucer almost done. President Shinra will come down to commemorate grand opening. Not sure how I feel with it covering the sky – it seems he doesn't like sky." He said, making a clear stab at other construction projects the President had done.

Cedrik spoke without looking up, looking at Gongagan steel, ignoring the three-thousand gil price tag, "How much for this crate."

Sabine smiled, "For you my friend, seven-hundred gil." A change occurred in Cedrik, "You feeling generous today? Never given me such a steep discount before."

The man's smile stayed glued on his face, "You are longtime customer. I think big discount good deal."

"Would the discount have anything to do with Derik Veer?" He questioned, already knowing the answer, "Is it true that you were going to accept his son as a free laborer?"

Sabine tried hard to keep a smile on his face, "My business, my decisions."

Cedrik stepped closer to Sabine and talked under his breath, "I don't think that is what the Labor Force will say. From what I gather, the boy doesn't want to be here let alone work for free. Think about all the laws you will be breaking, unwilful forced labor, unpaid labor, the list goes on really." Sabine started shifting his eyes around, clearly uncomfortable with the topic. Cedrik continued to pressure him, "When the Labor Force hears about this, the investigation that will crack open will be unimaginable." He pulled a new toothpick from behind his ear and lowered his voice below a whisper, "What do you think they will do when they see how many convicts are helping you transport illegal materia into the Midgar Slums?"

Sabine's mouth dropped stunned at the fury of accusations thrown his way. Sabine laughed and shook his head, "Where this come from? What I do to anger you? We need go to my office."

A short walk was all it took to go into a small room filled with unboxed merchandise. Sabine shut the door behind them, providing them more privacy. Cedrik knew Sabine was in the illegal transportation of materia for years but never brought it up out of respect to Sabine. Everyone has their darkness after all. Ten years ago, President Shinra enforced a ban on materia for all Midgar civilians and non-governmental groups – it was now only for Shinra military and government approved divisions. Regions that were out of Shinra's control were not affected with this change of policy but The Materia Policing Act surprising worked and created more peace in Midgar and took away a great amount of power to the slums. Don Corneo did not like this and wanted to give back the power to his gangs that he claims was 'unrightfully stolen' from him. How would he be able to successfully pull off a feat such as this? Recruit the man who had the largest transportation business in Gaia, Sabine Colton.

Sabine started, "Ok Ulrich, what is this about? Why you attack me in such way?"

Cedrik continued with more force than before, "Why in fuck's sake would you take such a deal? Making a kid work for free with these conditions to give discounts to his father? That's not fuckin' fair at all!"

Boiling with internal anger already, Sabine attempted to disregard Cedrik, "I'm just honest coal miner that expanded business to accommodate coal's current energy crisis. You have no proof. I'm good citizen, I pay taxes, I work hard. Veer came to me with deal, I took – it benefits me well."

"So because he would be off the books, you would use him to push your materia?" Cedrik gritted his teeth.

"Burned of proof on you Ulrich." Sabine's eyes grew deadly.

A bright smile appeared on the rugged face and he continued to purposefully break the Operator, "It must hurt seeing how Shinra is making filthy amounts of money with Mako while your coal business can't even make ends meet anymore. Mako is filling into every house and company in Gaia and your coal - well, it's not exactly a big hit anymore." Cedrik crossed his arms looking more imposing than ever, "You use to be raking in money Sabine. All the houses you had, the jewelry, the private jet all gone in an instant because business hit rock bottom. How do you rise back up as the monopoly in energy and get your luxurious life back?" Cedrik gave a sly smile that struck fear in Sabine, "Kill President Shinra."

"No, no!" Sabine shouted, "I won't let you say these things here! You have no proof! I no treason!"

"So, that phone call from Don Corneo was...nothing then? There is no meeting this Tuesday to give his compadre another crate of materia that you stole from," he paused, "Cosmo Canyon was it?"

"I just transport! I no kill no one!" Sabine exasperatingly spoke.

"The gangs in Midgar are being armed with materia - materia that you willingly and forcefully stole and shipped – any deaths that occurs with those materia is on your hands." Cedrik cracked his neck, "The slums are festering with gangs and resistance members that will destroy Shinra with the materia that you provided courtesy of the Don. You might end up working for free in your own mines if you catch my drift."

Sabine pleaded with Cedrik, "Please, my son, he's only six years. I work for him to live. I have lost everything. I cannot lose my son."

Cedrik nonchalantly scratched the blonde stubble on his chin, "You're on the wrong side Sabine."

Tears formed in his eyes, "The Don has promised me a future for my son - how can a father pass that up? I cannot give my son what I once was able to. My wife walked out once the money flow dropped. I've been trapped by him. My material business do good now, money go up for me but – I still working for Don." He rubbed his face, "My son is my world Ced, I cannot lose him. What do I need to do? I am at your mercy." His expression was twisted with grief and desperation.

Cedrik thought long and hard about his next move, he wasn't the type to simply blackmail someone without giving them a way out of their situation, especially for a man like Sabine who made a poor decision because he wanted to protect his son in his time of need. Sabine was a good man with a bad hand, Cedrik wasn't about to crush him, "There is one man in town that knows of this information, he was found snooping though some altered transportation dockets - you will need to do something for me and I will share with you the name."

"What?! Impossible! I know everyone!" Standing, Sabine placed his hands on his desk and leaned over for support, shocked that there was a potential mole in his midst.

Cedrik shook his head, "A Turk is already on your trail from what I understand – tripped by the same individual."

Sabine grabbed Cedrik, "Tell me! Please!"

Cedrik towered over Sabine, "You will grant me a request and I will share the name."

"Yes, yes, anything!" Sabine clapped his hands, "What can I do my friend?"

"I need you to put two boys on your roster and act like they are here." Cedrik said with assertion.

Sabine gave him a confused look, "That is all? I do this all the time! Yes, yes, I can. Who?

"Cloud Strife and Harley Veer."

Sabine grabbed his head with stress, "Derik's kid! Der'rmo! Now I see why you blackmail, I'd do same."

"I'll give you the name and you make the paperwork for both boys. You must act like they are here, even if Derik comes to visit."

The mine operator stood with his hands on his hips deep in thought. It was either risk going to prison and losing his son or creating false documents and carrying on a façade and possibly lose a good client. Either way, it was easy for him to decide.

"Alright, I will do what you want but," he paused, "why you give me name? You already have blackmail, you won."

Cedrik shifted his stance, "I have standards when it comes to blackmailing," he smiled, "I won't turn my back on a friend. You needed to know this information anyway – I'm just using it to my advantage."

Sabine nodded and made a call. An assistant came in with paperwork and handed it to Sabine, "They need to fill this out in their handwriting, pictures would be even better for me or I can find look-a-likes."

Cedrik gathered the documents, "I got 'em out by the plane. I'll be back with everything,"

Sabine sat patiently in his office waiting for Cedrik to return. He picked up a frame with his son and looked at it adoringly. He popped out the picture and turned around to the back. Written in black sharpie was a startling message: Remember who you work for, Don Corneo. He pursed his lips with the clear threat on his son written on the back of the school photo. He replaced the picture back into the frame as he heard the door open announcing Cedrik's return.

Sabine quickly flipped through the documents and stapled the boy's pictures to them and wrote 'Training' as job occupation. He buzzed his assistant back and handed them to her to file.

"Done. Your turn." He demanded

Cedrik slid a piece of paper with a name in it. Sabine took it and unfolded it. His mouth dropped when he read the charcoal lines of the letters.

Barrett Wallace.

\--

Cloud and Harley were playing Tic-Tac-Toe in the sands waiting for Cedrik to come back. Harley pushed Cloud over in a playful frustration after losing the tenth game in a row. Cloud proved quite good at strategy games and an innocent jealousy grew in Harley. Cloud laughed as he picked himself up, "Best out of Fifteen?" As Harley began to draw the board again, he saw Cedrik approaching from the distance with a couple of burley men carrying crates.

"Heads up." Harley notified Cloud as he destroyed the playing field with his foot. Cedrik approached the plane, "Mission Success. I would suggest coming back here when you are done with basic to thank him and provide some volunteer work for him." Cloud and Harley nodded in sync, thankful for Cedrik working his magic. Sabine's men finished loading Cedrik's plane with newly purchased supplies and shook hands with him in departure.

"Now that that's done," he headed to his side door, "load up - next stop is Costa del Sol."


	5. Three's Company

"Don't worry Sir, I'll do I great job." A spiky, raven haired man reassured his caller, "I won't let you down, I promise."

The young cheerful man closed his phone and slid it into his pocket. He stood on the shipping dock in Junon and let the gentle ocean breeze flow through his hair, taking a brief moment to enjoy the tiny ounce of nature he could. Junon was a beautiful sight to see - from a military standpoint that is. Junon was Shinra's base for the Airforce and Naval Fleet, which could be assumed by the three mammoth aircraft carriers looming in the distant waters, showing only a summary of the strength of the Shinra Company's military. The bright sun beamed down on the water, creating a beautiful glisten on the surface. Helicopters and fighter jets took the skies as they were departing and arriving from their unknown missions, rattling the armored city with their powerful engines. He always loved to hear the sound of the jet engines soaring above him and shaking him to his core. It was a spiritual experience nonetheless, and it was one of the reasons he didn't mind being forcefully assigned to Junon.

The young man had recently been given the duty of Cadet Inspection and Surveillance, a task generally given to Third Class Soldiers, but somehow ended up in his mission file as a Second Class Soldier. He had never done it before but he was assigned the task by the Director of Soldier himself, Lazard Deusericus. Excitement was the last thing he felt as he would have rather taken deployment to Wutai rather than Junon, but he would honor his duty as Soldier and do his best to suck it up. With the war on the horizon, President Shinra and his staff felt it was best to slowly deploy troops to Wutai in the event that the state of emergency would turn into a war. This also meant the incoming cadets needed to be trained hard and fast in the event that extra boots on the ground was necessary.

The sounds of cawing from seagulls gave a false sense of peace and relaxation as he made his way off the docking platform to a small building labeled 'Docking Office'. The office served as a paperwork station for all incoming and outgoing military vessels and cargo shipments - including the live cargo of cadets. The office housed eight small offices labeled for each element of the docking process - one of the offices was strictly for the entrance and acceptance of new cadets. The young man walked into said office and leaned up against the edge of a desk currently in use by a war-torn man who side-eyed him in annoyance.

"Are you ready for the fish?" A man of about fifty with black, gray speckled hair looked up at the young man perching on his desk.

"Who, me or the seagulls?" The look of disapproval caused the raven haired man to laugh. Humbly, the young man spoke, "Well, it's my first time doing inspection duty so I hope I don't disappoint! I just don't understand why the task was given to a Second-Class instead of a Third."

The man offered advice, "Overseeing the training of the cadets is one of the highest compliments you can get - they trust your judgement with the cadets. Hell every now and then, Angeal and Kain stop by and see how a platoon is doing."

The young man stood from the desk and shrugged, "I know, you're right. I just want to be in the action alongside them. What good can I possibly do here? I want to be out there to help win the war too." The young man anxiously began to perform squats unabashedly in the middle of the room.

The older man sighed and shuffled through paperwork, "You are participating in the training of future generations. Is that not a reward in itself? You are teaching the young men that will take our positions in the future. It's our job as superiors to make sure we guide them in the right direction so when the barrel of the enemy's gun is staring at them, they will have the knowledge and confidence to act. It is a duty of honor and you should treat it as such. I'm actually thankful for getting a Second Class with this unit, Third Classes just don't have the grit yet and tend to have their head inflated by their egos of simply being a Soldier. You look like a good kid Son, I'm actually glad to have you here."

He inwardly smiled at the compliment, "How many recruits this time?"

The older man peered at the roster with no hurry, "By the looks of it around seventy or so."

"Any from backwater towns?" he asked energetically.

Rolling his eyes, he looked again, "Let's see," he flipped to the statistics page, "We've got some from Nibelheim, Bone Village, Cosmo Canyon, Icicle Village, Costa del Sol and Midgar."

Figures. He hung his head in sadness that no one from his town signed up - it's been three years since a recruit came from his town, then again, not many youths lived there anymore - they already moved out and got on with their lives, including himself.

He pulled a strong hand through his disheveled spiky black hair and began to scratch the back of his head, "City kids huh? Do they make good cadets?"

The man shook his head, "Absolutely not" he scoffed, "Worst cry-baby, snot nosed kids you'd ever seen. Always complaining at the slightest inconvenience, real assholes if you ask me, but that's why we're here - to beat the civilian right out of 'em." The older man said with a smirk on his face.

Staff Sergeant Abrams was his name. He was the widely known drill sergeant who was adept for his harshness with the recruits and a true master trainer of other drill sergeants. He could shape any civilian into a soldier by the end of the four-month training program. He had been the master drill sergeant for over fifteen years and all the other drill sergeants looked up to him with nothing less than the utmost respect. He was truly doing a job he loved which could easily be seen with every shipment of cadets as he cared deeply for their development and journey to be a member of the Shinra military.

"So what exactly is my job?" He asked unaware of his job description.

"You will stand at the observation post and monitor the progress of cadets. It's as simple as that. A good Soldier will even get his hands dirty and go help train the cadets too. You won't need to be there at every waking moment, but just survey the cadets and help us see who stays and who goes."

Raven hair bounced as he acknowledged the Staff Sergeant, "Sounds easy enough. Well, I hope I can hold high standards and don't make a mess of anything."

Abrams grinned though slightly yellowed teeth, "They'll be here soon Son, you best get your paperwork done before it's time to smoke 'em." The young man grinned at the Staff Sergeant and turned around and plopped himself down at his desk.

As he combed through the documents and read all the rules and regulations the Company had so conveniently written out regarding the cadet inspections; he finally filled out the last page of the document, locking him to the military city for four months. As he neared the end of the document, it was required for him to check the box with his rank and division. He aptly checked the box labeled 'Soldier' and 'Second-Class' and right next to it on the printed name and signature line, he hastily wrote and signed his name: Zack Fair.

Zack, finished with his paperwork, leaned back in his chair and prayed to the gods above that he would do a decent job and not fuck up.

\--

Cedrik expertly lined up with the runway and began to flip switches and turn knobs to prepare landing in Costa del Sol. Viewing the tropical city from above was breathtaking with its clear blue waters and white- sand beaches. The beige colored stucco buildings could be seen from the sky and were dotting the small town. The Corel mountains stood tall behind the sea town with the brilliant peaks bursting through the clouds. The runway was a welcoming sight with lights and painted lines, a great step up from what they previously landed on. The plane rattled with the drop in altitude and Cloud tried hard to keep his stomach from coming out of his mouth again.

The wheels touched down on the runway as the jolt of the plane signaled their fairly smooth landing. The small white plane slowed down to a stop as it reached the end of the pavement. Quickly running in front of the stopped airplane, airport staff began to give Cedrik signals with their arms and hands. They were taxied to a small public hangar which housed around ten privately owned planes. Cedrik positioned the plane according to the overhead instructions and cut the engine in response to the staff member's signal in front of him.

"This is your stop." Cedrik pulled himself out of the cockpit and turned to help Harley and Cloud out of the plane.

"Are you going straight home Mr. Ulrich?" Harley asked.

Cedrik closed the doors and looked at his watch. From all the flying and the surprise endeavor at Corel Town, it was already close to three o'clock in the afternoon. Cedrik could feel a gurgle in his stomach as hunger began to speak from within, "I might hang around for a bit - been doing a lot of flying and need to get some rest. Do the two of you need help settling into the inn?"

They shot a quick glance at one another, "No, I think we can handle it from here." Cloud spoke as he picked up his second duffle bag with a grunt. Cedrik nodded at the boys and picked up his own travel bag, leading them off the tarmac to a safer location.

"The inn is over there," he pointed to a large, distant wooden building with big, red letters forming the word 'Inn' on the front.

"I guess it's time to part ways." Cloud stated. Harley nodded and turned to begin his walk towards the inn, "Thank you Mr. Ulrich," waving his hand at Cedrik, "It means the world." He slowly disappeared as he headed into the town.

Cloud was reluctant to leave as he stood in front of the man. He wouldn't have made it to Costa del Sol without the help of Cedrik. Cloud felt a strong hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry about your mom, I'll do what I can to keep her at bay." He said with a change of heart. Cloud nodded thankfully and held out his hand. Cedrik took it and gave a firm shake, "No regrets, boy."

"No regrets, Sir." It was a silent agreement between them, Cedrik would keep things calm at home and Cloud would go and bust his ass to make sure Cedrik wasn't doing it in vain.

"Alright, go get yourselves checked into the hotel and get ready for the best four months of your lives." He grinned, his toothpick sticking straight out of his mouth.

Cloud nodded as he scurried off to catch up with Harley who was already far ahead of him. Cedrik remained standing on a small bridge connecting the airport and the thriving town, watching several more planes fly in for vacation. He took a moment to enjoy the smell of the ocean breeze as he threw his toothpick on the ground and lit a cigarette. He finally turned to make his way into town hoping to get his hands on a stiff drink.

\--

Upon arrival at the inn, Cloud and Harley immediately were greeted by a large, standing whiteboard with an arrow pointing to the right instructing them to the location for MEPS check-ins. After a small walk, they found the designated desk with a grumpy older woman behind it.

"Uh, Hello Ma'am, we're here to check in." Cloud politely informed.

The old woman was deep in sleep and she was heavily breathing through her mouth, her face was similar to a frog's, with a bulging neck that might inflate at any second. The silence filled with heavy breathing as the woman didn't register their presence and continued to snore.

"Excuse me ma'am - MEPS check in? Can you help us?" Cloud repeated. There was a small bell on top of the desk that said, 'ring for service'. Harley swiftly rang the bell which startled the woman. She sprang to life - or what was left of it - when she began to cough loudly and abrasively. She was clearly upset that she was woken from her nap.

"Ack... ack... What do you boys want?" The low, gravelly voice of the woman gave light that she might have a heavy smoking problem.

"We want to check-in." Cloud said with more frustration than before. The woman made some more grunts as she clicked the computer on her desk, "Identification or Paperwork."

They slid over their recruitment documents and the lady taped slowly on the computer.

"Cloud Strife, Room 204, Harley Veer, Room 315." She grumbled at them.

"Any way we can stay in the same room?" Cloud pressured, hoping to at least be able to stay together a little longer before they would ship out.

The lady typed on the computer and looked up, purposefully ignoring his request, "Here are the inn rules." She slid over a page for each boy to take with their room keys on top of them. Upon looking at the list, Harley was shocked at the rules - most notably the first rule: You are not allowed to leave the inn under any circumstances. Rules were issued to all MEPS recruits to not disrupt the current paying customers of the hotel, and secondly, to hold accountability and responsibility to all who stayed the night.

Harley scrunched his face and took both of the keys from the top of the desk and stepped out of the way for other military recruits filing up behind them. Not only will he not be able to room with Cloud, he wouldn't be able to go see the beach like he hoped for. Maybe next time.

"I guess we should get settled and see our roomies." Cloud jostled Harley's thoughts. He nodded his head in agreement and they both split up and went to their respective rooms.

Cloud slid the key into the slot and turned the handle. The smell of cold, unfamiliar, stuffy air hit him when he first walked in. Already a guy with a larger, muscular build was sitting on one of the twin beds watching television. At first glance, Cloud was intimidated by him. His face was chiseled and had barely any fat on it and his physique was already incredibly built. He was pushing six feet easily, if not he was knocking on the door, that's for sure.

"Uh, hey. What's up?" Cloud was taken aback by the warm, cheerful voice that came from the young man. The sandy blonde haired recruit stood from the bed and went to shake hands with him.

"Baer." He offered. Cloud felt relief as he looked into hazel eyes overflowing with friendliness.

"Cloud."

He looked Cloud up and down, "Geeze, how old are you? You look like a fuckin' baby." He said plainly.

Cloud tried to ignore the sting from the comment and just laughed instead. He was never the type of person to enter conflict easily with anyone, which was why it was difficult for him to confront the boys that bullied him throughout his childhood.

Baer gave him an answer first, "I'm twenty. You?"

Cloud sighed, "Sixteen."

"Sixteen?!" He grabbed his head with shock, "My god, you're still suckin' on yer ma's tit!" He ruffled Cloud's hair playfully, not caring about personal boundaries, "Tell me little man, when's your ship out date?"

Cloud ran his hand through his hair to redirect his spikes, "Tomorrow at 3pm."

Baer smiled warmly, "Looks like we'll be spending more time together than we thought. What division you goin' for, Turk, Soldier, MP?"

Cloud held his head with a weak confidence, "Soldier," he started but his lack of faith in himself caused him to add to his statement. "if I get in that is. Otherwise, it's off to the Military Police for me."

Baer gave Cloud a look of disapproval, "If? You sure won't be getting in doubting yourself like that. When! When you get into Soldier! Come on, say that sentence again for me - from the top with gusto!"

Cloud did as he was told, earning him a pat on the back from his temporary roommate. Based on his first impression of Baer, he could already see that he was a likeable, well-grounded guy - the type who would include everyone in a conversation to make sure no one was left out or feel uncomfortable. Cloud set his bags down and heard a large growl coming from Baer.

"Geeze, I'm famished. We can go get some food at the hotel buffet if you're also feeling hungry?" Baer said, eager to get to know his roommate better.

Cloud realized he hadn't eaten since that morning - not to mention he threw up everywhere, he would keep that secret though. He nodded and followed Baer out the door.

\--

Cedrik sat in a corner booth in the bar sipping a whisky straight slowly, savoring its smoky taste. He quite enjoyed the wooden decor of the bar with the colored lighting and dark ambiance with slow, tropical music playing in the background. It was a peaceful place to relax before returning back to Nibelheim and it also gave him time to think about his next steps dealing with Silva. A ruckus in the bar caused him to look up.

"H-h-hey Brandon!" A man called out as he walked into the bar and sat himself at the counter. He received a warm greeting from the bartender who seemed genuinely excited to see him.

"Mr. Garrison, come back from flying, have you?" The bartender was already pouring rum for the man.

"Yes Sir, I just finished my last flight for the day - time to get liquored up and enjoy my afternoon!" The amicable older man happily grabbed the rum-filled glass and began to sip on it.

Cedrik narrowed his eyes as he looked at the man. He had familiar features that he knew he'd seen before, he just couldn't put a finger on it. As if the strange man heard his thoughts, he turned himself in Cedrik's direction and nearly dropped his glass.

"Well I'll be damned." The man whispered to himself. He stood up and walked over to the corner booth towards Cedrik, unsure if his eyes were playing tricks on him. Cedrik stood up from his seat as the man approached. No words were exchanged between the men as they pulled each other into a tight hug, slapping each other on the backs.

"How long has it been old friend?" Cedrik asked as he pulled away. The man, Wayne Garrison, motioned for permission to sit down, which was granted without a second thought.

"Ten? Fifteen years perhaps? I've lost track." He smiled brightly, "Boy you sure did age well."

"You sure didn't." Cedrik retorted. It earned a laugh from the gentleman as he sipped on his drink.

"The fates have smiled upon us for us to run into each other after all these years. Are you here on vacation?" He asked as he swirled his glass around.

Cedrik smiled, "Wish I was, had to drop some cargo off at the docks; now I'm looking for some unwind time before heading back to Nibelheim."

"Is that where you live now? Man, after you left the military, you went off the grid - got worried about you buddy." He took a sip, "After my contract ended, I tried to settle back into my old civilian life back in Kalm, but I didn't take very well to it. I really needed to get back into the sky. I ended up taking this job flying tourist around the mountains and the beach - it's no fighter jet, but it'll do. Can't beat the view from my office window, that's for sure."

Cedrik smiled at his wingman, "Yeah I know what you mean. I had a hard year when I got out. Family problems you know." He said with a hint of vulnerability.

"You have a kid, right? How is he?" He asked with genuine concern.

Cedrik didn't want to answer that question and folded into his mind with the emotions he would not allow himself to express. His relationship with his son crumbled after he left the military. He became a monster- a furious, drunken monster that couldn't contain his newfound rage at the Shinra Company. That year, his seventeen-year-old son walked out on him in response to his ferocious forbiddance to join the Shinra Company - and all while drunk and dealing with his unfamiliar PTSD. Yes, his behavior was uncalled for and yes, he could have handled it much differently for a better outcome, but he was struggling with the aftermath of what the Shinra Company did to him with no one to understand his pain and no outlet for his deep rooted aggression.

He stood exactly where Silva did once upon a time, and all it earned him was abandonment from the one he loved the most. He lost his heart and soul. There had been no contact with his son for nine years - everyday he wondered if he was even still alive. He buried his son inside of his heart and would never let another soul know what transpired in that first year after departing the military - even after living in Nibelheim for almost a decade, no one knew he had a son. He planned to keep it that way.

"He's doing good." He grimly smiled as he gave unknown information to Wayne.

"Taking after his pop is he? If he got even an ounce of your skills, he'd be such an excellent pilot."

Cedrik smiled and nodded, wanting to get off the subject, "Ma also got banned from Midgar."

The older man's jaw dropped and nearly hit the table, "You're shitting me! Gaia Cedrik, I always said she needed to be supervised. What the hell did she do to get that punishment?"

Cedrik shrugged, "You know how she is with activism. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught by the Military Police. After so many run-ins with the law, they were going to incarcerate her, but I struck a deal with the higher ups and got her banned from Midgar instead." He took a swig of his drink to lubricate his throat, "We moved back to Nibelheim and started working at the General Store and then eventually ended up buying the damned thing."

Wayne gave a thoughtful glance at Cedrik, "Sounds like we did pretty good for ourselves don't you think." He raised his glass to Cedrik

A forced smile appeared on Cedrik's lips and he touched his glass to his friends, "Yeah, pretty good."

The two reunited friends spent the rest of the afternoon drinking whisky and talking old war stories, picking up exactly where they left off ten years ago. After sitting in the bar for hours, Cedrik finally parted ways with his old friend, boarded his plane, and began to flight back to Nibelheim as the sun almost finished setting on the beautiful coastal town.

\--

"Time to wake up, time to wake up." The automated voice called on the phone. Cloud could barely open his eyes as he looked at the clock on the bedside table. Five o'clock glared at him with red, digital numbers. After eating with Baer yesterday, they went to the recreational center and spent the rest of their time meeting and conversing with other recruits until it was time for dinner. There was really not much to do at the hotel except eat, workout, and talk to each other.

Cloud slammed the phone down on the receiver, causing Baer to stir from his sleep, "Shit, is it already five?" He said with a sleepy tone to his voice. Cloud didn't mind waking up early. Being from a county town, it was very common to be up and running at six each morning. After talking last night, it was revealed that Baer was from Cosmo Canyon, a small village in the mountains known for its beautiful, starry skies and its observatory. Unfortunately, the culture of Cosmo Canyon was to stay up late and enjoy the night sky and sleep until noon the next day. Baer rolled out of bed in pain from waking early, and quickly dressed himself; Cloud followed suit immediately after. They rushed out the door, ate quickly, and boarded the bus that would take them to the MEPS center.

As they entered the bus, Cloud noticed Harley in the back sitting alongside a small, scrawny boy. There were no seats next to him so Cloud remained beside Baer near the front of the bus. The drive was short and peaceful as they pulled up to a large, brick building with 'Costa del Sol Military Entrance Processing Station' in bold, black letters attached to the building's front surface. They were instructed to line up at the entrance to the building and were briskly ushered inside a locker area and instructed to secure all items while being processed.

When the task was completed, all recruits were escorted to a room that was very similar to what would be seen at the bank. Several military personnel were standing behind a large counter with a range of letters taped to their station. Depending on their last name, the recruits split into lines and received a checklist of things that needed to be done in a specific order: orientation, medical examination, completion of paperwork, military identification, and finally, the oath of enlistment.

All recruits made their way into the designated orientation room in which a Shinra MP was standing, awaiting the military recruits to file in. The recruits present softly spoke amongst themselves as minutes passed. Cloud looked around and saw Harley standing somewhat close to the same kid from the bus. Cloud walked up and hit Harley on the arm.

"Is that your roommate?" He said as he pointed to the boy, "How is he?" He whispered not wanting to pull any attention on them. Harley rolled his eyes, "He's such a nerd. He wouldn't turn off the light because he wanted to keep reading." He squinted his eyes in irritation, "Like bruh, wakeup call is at five, turn the fuckin' lights off." He shifted and shook his head, "What about you?"

"Baer? He's pretty cool," Cloud turned and made eye contact with the said man, causing him to automatically come over to him.

Harley was amazed at the muscle mass the man had, "Don't tell me you're sixteen too?" Baer exclaimed.

"I'm seventeen." Harley said matter-of-factly.

Baer rolled his eyes, "Same fuckin' thing."

The room finally filled with hushes as another uniformed man walked into the room -instantly quieting all the recruits. He was wearing a blue turtleneck, black baggy pants, and combat boots that zipped up the front. Belted around his waist was the symbol of strength known to everyone. The room was still as he settled into the front of the room with several pages in a folder. He was looking around the room to get everyone's attention before he finally started, "Hello Recruits," the man began, "I am Third-Class Soldier Eric Wheatley, and I am here to inform you of the rules of the MEPS and help you all on your way to fulfill your military career."

Mouths were hanging open all around the room. A Soldier member was addressing them and none of them were expecting to see a Soldier member so early in their career, "First and foremost, you may sit at any designated sitting area but do not slouch, and do not fall asleep. All it takes is a Soldier member to see you sleeping and they will chew your ass out and probably send you home before you even get started." Several gasps bounced around the room as the young soon-to-be cadets grew fearful of being kicked out from the starting line.

Like himself, Soldier members were occasionally at the MEPS center for various reasons, mainly Third Class Soldiers, to help be a liaison for the Public Safety and Maintenance Department and to help monitor and facilitate the processing of the cadets. First Class Soldiers would not be caught setting foot in the MEPS centers due to the recruits not being up to military standards as they would not give the proper respect the First Class Soldiers deserved. It would take some time before any recruits would be in contact with any Soldier above Third, as they must first be stripped of their civilian lives and built up to the standards of the Shinra military.

The man continued. "Do not share any documents with each other. It is between you, the military, and the doctors," the man shifted his stance as he rattled off the rules, clearly showing he did this too many times, "You are being watched at all times and at all angles. Again, all it takes is a bored Soldier to see you doing something wrong and then he'll be breathing down your neck as they walk you right out the front door."

"Are you ready for this?" Cloud quietly asked Harley as the man continued to talk.

Harley shrugged, "Are you?" Cloud nodded.

The Soldier began to instruct the recruits to their designated stations, "Please follow the yellow line to go to the medical station. You will begin your mobility and physical examinations and then proceed to get your blood and urine tested. Afterwards, you will be instructed to complete a hearing and vision test. You will then follow the red line to complete your paperwork and will be issued your Military Identification Card. You will then be filed into a room in which you will take your Oath of Enlistment."

He paused briefly before continuing, "Those who will be immediately departing for the Shinra Cadet Program will meet down by the docks with all personal effect at 1400 hours. More information will be given upon arriving to the docks. If you understand what is to be expected today, you may head to the medical station."

\--

Baer had a mangled expression on his face as he left the examination room, "The next time you want to jingle my bells, at least take me to dinner first." He walked past Cloud sitting in the wait area and took his index and middle finger and jammed it into the air, signaling a prostate exam. Cloud's face dropped and cringed in horror and instantly regretted everything as he heard his named called to be next. There wasn't actually a prostate exam, just a little touching and prodding of the nether regions, but Cloud didn't know that. Baer gave a smug smile at Cloud and waved bye at him as he slowly stood up from his chair and walked towards the nurse.

Baer was directed to another room filled with several chairs set up for drawing blood. A large, beige door against the room's wall opened and Harley walked out carrying a cup of yellow tinted liquid. He made eye contact with Baer, shook his head, and silently walked off in another direction.

The sandy blonde recruit sat down in the chair as a nurse rolled over in a stool and began to wrap an elastic band around his bicep. She roughly swabbed alcohol on the interior of his elbow and stuck the needle in his arm.

"I'm not good with needles." He said as he tried to make small talk.

"I am." She responded, not wanting to converse anymore. Baer watched the syringe fill with his blood and within seconds, the needle was being pulled out of his vein. She placed the blood in a vial and marked it, sliding it in a container with many other blood samples. She turned around and held out a small container with a light pink lid on it.

"I need a urine sample. Fill it." She said void of enthusiasm.

Baer glared at her and snatched the cup, making the walk of shame to the same door Harley departed from. He already had to pee since early that morning so it would be a breeze for him to fill the cup. When he opened the door to the single stall, there was an MP standing right next to the toilet in the small room.

"You've got to be kidding me." He whispered under his breath. It was evidently loud enough to earn him a response from the MP.

"I don't like this anymore than you do." he pointed at the toilet, "Make it quick."

\--

A light shined brightly in the deep blue eyes, "Alright Strife, your eyes look good. Open your mouth and stick out your tongue." Cloud complied as the doctor shined a light down his throat.

"Still have your tonsils? Hmm, must be from the countryside, not very good medicine out there." The doctor began to write information down on a clipboard.

"I bet in the mountains of Nibelheim there were bound to be hiking trips and the like and you look like a very adaptable hiker. Have you ever fallen and hurt yourself?" The doctor asked.

Cloud thought hard, he didn't want to give information away that would hurt his chances of taking his oath at the end of this day, "No sir, I've never been seriously injured before."

"Seriously? What about minor injuries? You've never fallen or ran into anything? How about any strange illnesses?"

Cloud remembered what happened in the plane on the way here - motion sickness. He was told by the recruiter not to give any information away that was not documented, no matter how 'friendly' the doctor was. MEPS was there to disqualify any and all people that could not make it in the ranks and their doctors were the ones who were paid to do it. Technically, Cloud only recently discovered his motion sickness so he wasn't lying - he would just tell himself it was food poisoning and let it go, "No sir, no injuries or illnesses to report."

"Recruiters are always telling young soldiers to lie to us doctors. We are on your side, if you've broken your leg before from sliding down a hiking trail, that could come to bite you in basic training. What if you have vertigo or motion sickness? That would be brought out in basic training. That would definitely set you back," he wrote more things down on this clipboard, "Not to mention the jail time you were to serve if you lied or omitted any information on documents. You don't want to go to jail because you didn't tell me an injury, do you?"

It isn't an injury I'd being going to jail for. Cloud thought to himself. He reassured the doctor that everything had been reported for and the doctor began to run his hands along Cloud's neck, "Lymph nodes are normal. Let's listen to your heart and lungs." Cloud followed instructions and inhaled and exhaled with the doctor.

"You are quite healthy Strife. You need to put on a little weight though, you are on the lighter side. I do think you will be able to gain around ten pounds during basic so you will be able to maintain a weight suitable for future military training." The doctor paused and flipped through the paperwork, "Alright, drop your pants and spread 'em."

Harley sat in a small room with six other boys who were all wearing headphones, "Alright Veer," a voice spoke in his headset, "it's time to test your hearing. When you hear a noise, press the button on the trigger."

He nodded in response to the doctor and he began to pick up on the faint beeps that were traveling from the headset. When the test was over, the doctor's voice came through the headset, "We are going to have to run the last test one more time. We will be increasing the volume output. Do your best." Harley sat in confusion, he was sure he got them all. He nodded and the test ran again, running through the different frequency pitches.

"It's nothing to worry about Veer, the first round, you got thirty-nine out of fifty pings. The second time you heard them all. It seems you have a slight hearing loss. Did you know about this?"

He answered to the doctor, "No Sir, that I am aware of." The doctor scribbled down notes on his clipboard.

"Do you remember any head trauma or concussions?" Harley sat still. He thought back to the night he was kicked down the stairs. He pursed his lips cursing his deranged father and lied to the doctor, "No Sir, perhaps I listen to music too loud."

The doctor shrugged, not really concerned about the test results, "If you do listen to music for prolonged time periods, it could do temporary damage. You have passed, nonetheless. Let's go ahead and move you to the eye exam."

Harley's vision was great. His eyes were trained from blacksmithing to pick out the smallest defects of any substance. At least his father didn't beat that out of him. He clearly passed the eye exam with flying colors.

The doctor stated, "Well, what you lost in hearing you made up for in sight. You are ready to move on to the next station." He gave the clearance to continue. Harley stood from the examination chair, stepped out into the hallway, and followed the red arrow to finish paperwork.

\--

"Geeze Cloud, you look like a Chocobo that got frightened by headlights." Baer's eyes widened as he impersonated exactly what he described. Harley laughed along once he saw Cloud's newly issued military identification card.

"It isn't like yours is any better, you look like a Death Claw!" Cloud said with laughter in his voice.

Baer looked at Cloud disappointingly, "Death Claw? Really? That's what you come up with?" Cloud simply shrugged in response to Baer.

"And then there's this handsome man over here," Baer pointed at Harley whose photo came out like a calendar model.

"I guess I got my photogenic side from my dad." Harley smiled, "You're from Cosmo Canyon, right?" He asked regarding the information Cloud passed on to him earlier, "What's it like there?"

"Beautiful for a day and then boring as fuck for the rest of your life." Baer groaned, "What about Nibelheim?"

"Same," both Harley and Cloud stated in unison. The three boys shared a laugh and went off to the final task on the checklist. It was time for them to take their Oath of Enlistment.

\--

Cloud turned into his thoughts. He stood there in the room next to different young men each in different stages of their lives and having different reasons for joining the military. He stood tall and proud as he held his head high towards the bright red flag with the glorious Shinra Corporation logo stitched elegantly into the cloth.

"Raise your right hand and repeat after me," the room of recruits raised their right hands. It was time to take his oath.

The Oath of Enlistment was the final step in becoming a member of the Shinra Military - after swearing in, it bounded all recruits to the laws of President Shinra and gave him full power over their lives. Cloud didn't care, he would give his life for the President as long as he could call himself a First Class Soldier. A shiver went through his body when he thought about the First Class Soldiers who also took this oath upon the beginnings of their careers. He would soon repeat the same words that Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal all said once upon a time ago.

"I do solemnly swear to protect the lands of Gaia with my entire being."

Honor.

"I will protect the Shinra Company from enemies both foreign and domestic and will lay my life down in time of need."

Bravery.

"I will listen and obey the commands of President Shinra along with all commanding officers placed in authority of me."

Obedience.

"I will now and forever follow the Shinra Code of Military Conduct and will answer the call to protect my President and my nation. I swear unto Gaia."

After reciting those simple, powerful words, Cloud was officially a member of the Shinra Military.

He walked out of the MEPS center with Harley and Baer with emotions he could not put words to. He did not have time to savor the feeling as they quickly made their way back to the hotel and packed their things. After checking out, they made their way to the Costa del Sol dock where several MPs were commanding other recruits to step on yellow footprints on the ground, lining them up in three sections of 5 by 5 to file into the ship.

A member of the Military Police went down the rows and took roll call of all the newly initiated cadets getting ready to head off to Junon for basic. He checked Cloud's name off on the list as a swell of happiness grew in his chest. He was finally about to board the ship and was finally about to take the first step to fulfilling his dream. After ten minutes of standing, another Third Class Soldier stepped in front of the rows of new recruits, "Eyes on me!" He shouted.

"You are about to board the S.S Marina which will take you to Junon. It is a six hour ride - I suggest you get as much sleep as you can. You will be instructed by officers on the ship once you get closer to Junon. You will listen to every word that comes from their mouths and will follow every command they say. Do you understand me?"

The boys answered back with an assortment of 'yes's' and 'yeah's' in a wave of voices with no order and no sharpness. Noticing this the Third smiled as he inwardly knew this would change once they hit Junon.

"Alright cadets, it's time to board. Good luck in Junon -you'll be needing it more than you know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: The oath of enlistment is very similar to that of the United States - I didn't want to change too much of it as I want the same power and energy behind it. There have been changes to it to make it more my own and fit better with the story. Consider this more of a citation so it is not 'plagiarized'. Keyboard warriors, hand's off those keys!
> 
> Forgive me of my spelling and grammar, I write and edit very late at night due to my job. Errors are just so easy to read over when you wrote the material.


	6. Shark Attack

Chapter 6 – Shark Attack

Cloud's eyes tightened with resolve as the creak of the ship's steel doors began to reveal the towering city of Junon. After a long and arduous six-hour ride in silence, it was finally time to leave his civilian life and step off the boat and into the world of a soldier. The seventy recruits were ordered to line up in rows in front of the large passenger door of the ship, waiting for the grand reveal of the Junon docks. The door slowly lowered and touched the docks; not a second later the ship was boarded swiftly and forcefully by a drill instructor. He was short in stature but what he lacked in height, he made up for in muscle mass. He was wearing the standard drill instructor uniform that was found on all the propaganda posters: a dark beige, long-sleeved button up shirt which was neatly tucked into forest green dress slacks. He had polished black loafers on and a black belt with a golden Shinra insignia welded onto the buckle. His blouse was covered in patches designating his rank and accolades that he earned throughout his career as a soldier. Sitting on top of his head was a plain, forest green campaign hat. His face wore a menacing scowl as he looked disgracefully at the lot of recruits before him.

The recruits stood still in reverend silence. The tension felt bounce between the bodies was unreal as none of them ever felt this awestriking, invisible force before. Without saying a word, the drill instructor already had control over the recruits. He stood and stared at the recruits with his fierce brown eyes, searching their souls. Many of the recruits shifted their eyes fervently to avoid eye contact at all costs.

The drill instructor's disciplined voice broke the silence, "Welcome to the best military on the Planet," he paced in front of the recruits glaring at them with intensity they've never known before, "from here on out, you will respond to my every command with 'Aye Sir' and every question with 'Yes Sir' or 'No Sir', do you understand?" His voice projected powerfully and sharply throughout the ship.

The recruits responded in attempted unison, "Aye Sir!"

There was a still pause that moved between the young recruits, ensnaring them and frightening them. Even the roughest looking recruits carried fear in their eyes for this man terrified them and cut straight to their cores.

He bellowed, "You will get your shit, get off this boat, and stand on the yellow footprints in front of my building do you understand?!" He raged, scrunching his face up as he spoke.

"Yes Sir!" The recruits snapped back.

"Get off my ship!" the drill instructor shouted with intense anger

"Aye Sir!" The recruits wasted no time in sprinting off the ship and around the drill instructor. They raced quickly to a long building with yellow footprints in front of it. All the recruits had with them was a large envelope with their own paperwork, and whatever was in their pockets. Their bags were left on the ship and handled by other military personnel - civilian belongings should never mix with military belongings.

There they stood in formation for the first time as a unit, staring at the cargo ship they recently departed. The dark, night sky created an atmosphere of confusion as certain things could not be seen clearly. Only certain features could be seen on the faces of the military personnel swarming around them - leaving much to the imagination. Uneasiness sank into their stomachs as their heads began to panic with the uncomfortable surroundings.

The only emotion the recruits felt at this time was fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of making mistakes, and fear of humiliation. What they failed to realize was that in the eyes of the drill instructor - they themselves were mistakes. They were disgusting civilian fools that thought they could waltz into Junon and become a soldier. The drill instructors were the gatekeepers of the military allowing only those who had the heart of a soldier to pass. They did not accept mediocre performances and they would certainly not allow any recruits' egos to stay through basic training. Cloud was ready and willing to give everything he had to impress the drill instructors now and during training. He wanted to leave a lasting impression on them and would follow every order and strive to complete every physical task given to him with the best of his ability. He would not be cycled through or tossed out.

He stood among the startled recruits who were all shaking from adrenaline coursing through them, some more than others. They all stood with their fists clenched by their sides, faces straight ahead staring at the ship. Every recruit tried to stand as tall as possible, removing whatever slouch they might have. The drill instructor came off of the ship shaking his head displeased at their poor performance, "That was not fast enough!" He huffed as he pointed back towards the ship, "Get back on the ship!"

"Aye Sir!" Quickly, the recruits fell out of line and back onto the ship. Their pace quickened as the drill instructor showed disgust with their speed, "Faster Recruits!" His gravelly voice filled their ears as their hearts quickened.

They lined back up as they did before on the ship, awaiting the next instruction; with another command from the drill instructor, they found themselves lining back up on the yellow footprints. Again, he was displeased and ordered them to do it again, and again, and again.

The seventh command was given to get on the ship. The drill instructor was counting out loud to ten, giving them only a short amount of time to line up. The reason for the repetitious command was unclear except to a tanned, black-haired recruit. He noticed a small, frail boy who was continuously hanging behind and was clearly exhausted proving unable to keep up – causing him to line up past the time limit. The tanned recruit grabbed the weak boy and pulled him onto the ship with him. A second passed and as the command to exit the ship was given, he again dragged him off the ship with perfect timing.

Finally, the command ceased.

Satisfied, the drill instructor stood confident in front of the recruits who were now showing slight signs of physical exhaustion, "You will from here on out, forget yourself and begin to work together as a team," He looked at the tanned recruit acknowledging him silently for his effort, "You will now refer to yourself as 'this Recruit' and others as 'that Recruit'. There will be absolutely no pronouns in your speech as you mean nothing to this military and you have no part in this military until I say you do. You are one unit together, if one fails, you all fail." His voice was even tone with staccato elements, giving every word as brisk and forceful breath while giving a short pause after every sentence.

"You will sweat, you will bleed, you will become stronger. You are expected to hold yourselves to a higher standard - a standard that would make President Shinra proud to have you in his military! Every single command I give you, you will follow without question. Turn and face my building!"

"Aye Sir!" The recruits haphazardly turned to face the building out of sync and different directions. A new game began for the drill instructor, "Now turn and face me!"

"Aye Sir!" The body of recruits turned again.

"Turn back to my building!"

"Aye Sir!"

He walked to the front of the building with two strong doors engraved with the Shinra Logo. He pointed at two recruits in the front, "Get up here and open my door." They ran purposefully to the door and opened it, revealing the first room with dozens of writing desks - assuming for the stacks of paperwork they needed to fill out. What intimidated them most was the row of drill instructors that faced them. Six drill instructors were waiting for them to walk through those doors, fresh meat for them to chew on.

There was only one thing Cloud thought of when he saw what was waiting for him:

Bring it.

\----

A tall, formidable man walked with cat-like dexterity along the barrel of the Junon canon, surveying the new recruits from above, watching them with slight curiosity. A voice broke his concentration.

"Shall we stay longer and mock the recruits, or shall we be good little Soldiers and leave for our mission?" A fiery redhead remarked with boredom on his tongue.

The imposing man gave a small laugh from his chest, his turquoise eyes glowing in the dark and his long, silken, silver hair radiated light which rivaled the moon itself. He turned away from the sight of recruits running into the building and looked at his comrade.

The red headed man added, "I hear Angeal's puppy is surveying the recruits this time, he'll make a mockery of us no doubt."

A deep, seductive voice came from the man, "And if it was left to you, there would be no recruits to train."

"What are you implying?" he asked with an annoyed tinge to his voice.

He smirked and showed his perfect teeth, "You'd surely frighten them. They wouldn't make it past receiving without quitting." A playful tone coated his words as he walked passed his comrade, signaling to him it was time for them to leave. The red head followed suit as they approached a helicopter waiting nearby. They silenced themselves as the neared the aircraft, proving too difficult to speak over the deafening roar of the blades. They crouched quickly and jumped into the side-door. An MP greeted them respectfully and slammed the sliding steal door shut as they settled into their seats. The helicopter took off to the west against the dark, black sky unbeknownst to the new recruits that two legendary Soldiers shared the same air with them - if only for a moment.

\---

After filling out a multitude of paperwork with the barrage of drill instructors in their ears, the scared recruits were ushered into a large room with rows of partitioned cubicles, one for each recruit. Several drill instructors watched silently as they situated into the room. Baer was already settled into his cubicle as he noticed Cloud and Harley enter in quickly and take their positions. A different drill instructor took over and began to shoot off commands, "There is a mesh bag and a small navy drawstring bag in front of you, hold the navy bag above your head, do it now!" He barked.

"Aye Sir!" The recruits picked up the navy bag and held it up at eye level, showing the swarming drill instructors that they followed the order.

"If you have a wrist watch, you take it off and put it in that bag. Do you understand?"

"Yes Sir!"

"You have ten seconds, do it now!"

"Aye Sir!" Those that wore watches scrambled quickly to put them in the bag fearing what would happen if they fell behind, the others remained silent as they continued to hold the bag at eye level. Two drill instructors rushed between the recruits and yelled at them viciously, giving special attention to those who were slow. The drill instructor issued a similar command, demanding all identification, wallets, and phones be placed in the bag.

"Step back!" The drill instructors issued a command for all recruits to step back from their cubicle for inspection. The drill instructors went down the rows of terrified boys and checked what was left on the tables. He stepped up to a recruit that had his phone left on the table, "What is this recruit? Did I not tell you to put this in the bag? Step forward!" The recruit stepped forward silently and was immediately reprimanded, "Step back!" The recruit timidly stepped back into line.

"I issued you an order recruit. That warrants a response! Step forward!" He bellowed with disgust at the recruit.

"Aye Sir!" The recruit stepped forward and placed his phone in the designated bag. Around the room many recruits were corrected the same way in attempts to put them down as an individual's and assert the expectations of their relationships as drill instructors and recruits. Baer squeezed his eyes shut as he saw the drill instructor barreling down the aisle. He knew he was next. He left his wallet on the counter like the dumbass that he was sometimes. The drill instructor stepped up to him and snatched the wallet from the cubicle's surface.

"Is it so hard to follow instructions recruit?" The drill instructor took the wallet and shook it in his face.

"No Sir!" Baer stared straight ahead wanting to avoid eye contact.

"Then why did you leave your wallet here recruit?" The drill instructor stepped into his face and spat as he forcefully threw the wallet down on the counter in a burst of rage. Baer was attempting to smuggle the pictures inside of his wallet but that proved a failed mission as he wasn't quick enough and fumbled his wallet when the command was issued.

"I'm sorry Sir, I was too slow Sir!" Baer said quickly. The drill instructor opened the wallet and began to go through it. There was a five gil note and pictures of his family. The drill instructor stared at the pictures and showed hesitation with what to do. He took the pictures out of Baer's wallet and shoved them into his own pocket. Baer grimaced at the scene.

"When you prove yourself to be a soldier who can obey simple orders, you might earn these pictures back. Do you understand?"

Baer regrettable responded, "Yes Sir."

He leaned into Baer's face, "Open your mouth recruit. Do you understand?"

Baer took a breath, "Yes Sir!" He yelled louder than before. The drill instructor went to the next recruit and Baer felt his heart drop into his stomach. He kicked himself in the ass knowing he should have prepared better. The pictures he wanted to smuggle dearly were of his younger brother - his motivation for being here. He took a mental picture of the drill instructor and made sure he would get those pictures back.

After everything was squared away, the drill instructor shouted again to all recruits, "You will put the navy bag inside of the mesh bag. You will pull this string tight and wear it across your body, do you understand?!"

"Yes Sir!"

A drill instructor walked down the rows of recruits and yelled at them to hurry, "Hurry up! Get it across your body now! Now, now, now!" He zoned in on a recruit, "Now! Get it across your body!" He dragged out the word 'body' as he yelled in a random recruit's ear.

Finally satisfied with the recruits, a new command flew from the instructor's mouth, "Let's move recruits, get out of my room!" Baer, along with the recruits, quickly filed out of the contraband room and were ushered into another room in which they were all handed a large, blue plastic container. He saw Cloud near the front of the line already holding his bright blue bin. A drill instructor came into the room and explained the next task they would accomplish: equipment receiving.

\---

The last hour was spend shuffling through lines carrying the bins through various stations, collecting all the equipment they needed for basic training: physical training uniforms, toiletries, a folded up rucksack, running shoes, and their military training uniforms. That was just the major equipment they received; that blue bin held more items than they even knew they needed. The recruits rushed out of the building into the cold, night air carrying large, bright blue bins full of equipment.

Harley was keeping up fairly well as he ran silently alongside Cloud and Baer as they followed the drill instructor to their next destination: the barracks. The sounds of labored breathing could be heard throughout the entire group, giving a notion that many of the young recruits were not well conditioned for the running. Harley could see his strained breath in the air; the temperatures were moderately cold as winter was still hanging around. He could feel the warm fire in his cheeks knowing his face was flushed against the frosty, nipping air. From what he could see in the vaguely lit Junon streets, Cloud's were too.

After several twists, turns, and metal steel doors, they arrived at a tall building labeled as 'Donahue Hall' and were ushered inside without response. The seventy recruits walked into the building and climbed the first set of stairs. Harley noticed several rooms throughout the building and could hear other drill instructors yelling at what he could only assumes was other recruits getting their asses torn into by other drill instructors.

They were forced through bright red steeled double doors and met with their new home for the next four months. Harley pushed himself in next to Cloud and Baer, taking in the appearance of their quarters. There stood at least 80 beds for them to sleep on, twenty bunk beds on each side of the room. Only a thin, bare, blue and white floral patterned mattress lay on the springs of the bed. There were two black footlockers in front of each bunk bed and a horizontal pole attached to the back wall behind the bunks, presumably for hanging clothes. Large rectangular windows in groups of three were spaced at each bed.

"We will go down the roster and assign you to your bunk by last name. You will then stand in front of your footlocker while holding your bin. Do you understand?"

"Yes Sir!" The recruits said in response.

The drill instructor went through the roster and assigned the bunks to each recruit alternating from top bunk and bottom bunk. Cloud was on the top, Harley was on the top, and Baer got the bottom bunk. After the bunks were assigned, the recruits stood next to their bunkmates shoulder-to-shoulder with their bin in their hands.

"Dump your bins out on the floor." The drill instructor commanded. Harley wasn't sure which drill instructor said what and who was who as all the no-named faces blurred together, probably a side effect of sleep deprivation. There were several rabid drill instructors running around the room casting slurs and commands at the recruits. The items lay strewn about on the floor as Harley carefully made sure to keep his away from his bunkmates. He casually glanced across the aisle and made eye contact with Baer, whose bunk was in the middle of his row. Cloud was on the same side as Harley was, just two bunk beds away. Once all the recruits completed the command, the obnoxious calls of the drill instructors stopped.

Footsteps echoed in the room as the lead drill instructor paced, "You will be shown how to put everything away in its proper place. I will call out an item and you need to find it as quick as humanly possible. Do you understand?"

"Yes Sir."

"Find your toothbrush!"

And like that, calm quickly turned into chaos.

\---

Three grueling hours passed and it was finally lights off. Cloud had to guess it was at least three o'clock in the morning if not later. He never thought putting items away would take so much time and effort. Every single item had to be folded a certain way and placed a in an exact spot each and every time. Their military uniform was neatly and precisely hanging on the rack behind the beds and their field equipment was tucked away in their rucksacks which were lining the walls under the windows. Their footlockers were filled with all the other miscellaneous items that they have yet to know the use for. Cloud stared at the ceiling as his body sunk into the ridged slab of concrete as he took the last of his energy to be in the present, to feel every second tick by. The feel of the dry, scratchy sheets against his skin and the smell of cheap cleaning solution filling his nostrils. The soft snoring of his bunkmates wasn't enough to drown out his racing mind, he couldn't believe he was finally in Junon. He did wonder what his mother was doing on his first day away from home. The guilty feeling in his stomach sank further and further, slowly transforming itself into a small pebble in his core. He tried desperately to push the thoughts away only to find himself thinking out it more. His tired eyes continued to fight sleep as he remained restless.

Harley couldn't sleep either. He also lay in bed thinking about his future. Would this really help his escape his father? Well, it would at least toughen him up enough to stand up to him. He wasn't too scared of the drill instructors, he had his father yelling at him and abusing him his whole life, if anything - they were tame compared to his father. He turned over on his left side to see if he could see Cloud. Two bodies blocked his view, but he could at least see blonde spikes pointing in the air. Something about seeing those blonde spikes made him feel at ease knowing his friend was nearby. He focused on those blonde spikes as he tried to fall asleep.

\--

"Get up recruits!"

The drill instructors boisterous voice pieced the room as he was followed into the bunker with a drumline of trash can lids. Who knew drill instructors could be so musical? Cloud sat straight up in his bed as his heart was throbbing from his chest. He was disoriented as he tried to look around at what was unfolding before him. Recruits were falling out of the bunks, some were putting random clothes on, and others were startled and just began rummaging around in shock from the wake-up call. Glancing outside the window, Cloud noticed the dark sky – the same one he fell asleep to. What time was it? It was as if he just closed his eyes only moments ago. The drumline of drill instructors bolted around the room screaming at the top of their lungs as they hammered the tinny, steel, trash can lids with sticks, "Get up recruits! Get your asses up! It's 0430, rise and shine!"

Cloud slowly began to move, his eyes desperately hurting from the few hours of sleep he had. He made eye contact with Harley who could also barely open his eyes. Crust was holding Cloud's eyes shut as well, stumbling to line up in front of his footlocker.

He, along with the rest of his group learned how to put on their military uniforms, courtesy of the belligerent drill instructors swarming and harassing them. The uniform was incomplete, or at least felt like it was. There were some restrictions with the uniforms that were granted to them due to their newness in the military. Instead of the military police uniform that was expected, the military combat uniform was a forest green and beige camouflage tactical jacket and trousers with the same pattern. They wore sand colored combat boots which were covered by the hems of their trousers. They swayed back and forth with tiredness, wanting only to climb back into bed. Baer sighed as he looked out the window and was only met with darkness. Gaia how long did they sleep, or better yet, how short?

"Come on sleeping beauties. Get your MCU's on we do not have all day!" A drill instructor rushed around and screamed into their faces, trying to get them to move faster. The group tried hard as they fumbled and fell with the disorientation of early rising. One recruit fell right over as he was standing on one leg attempting to put his green, knee length sock on. A drill instructor was more than happy to help him.

"Recruit! You are sideways!" He kneeled next to the recruit and yelled in his face, repeating the same sentence over and over again until the recruit picked himself up, earning him a comment, "Thank you Recruit for joining us in the vertical position!"

Harley stood at the foot locker, blinking constantly trying to keep his eyes lubricated - the lack of sleep clearly drying his eyes. In doing so, he offended a drill instructor, "Recruit! Are you eyeballing me?" Harley was shocked to see a drill instructor from across the room point and yell at him. He began to second guess himself until the drill instructed cleared the distance in less than two steps.

"Are you eyeballing me recruit?!" He yelled again, this time in Harley's face. He straightened his posture and yelled, "Sir, No Sir!"

"Then why are your eyeballs looking at me?!" Harley was stumped by the clearly asinine question directed at him by the drill instructor. He stammered under the immediate pressure, "They are not Sir!" His response only angered the drill instructor more.

"Are you calling me a liar Recruit?!" Harley froze not knowing what to say - it was a verbal chess game with the drill instructor.

"Sir, No Sir!"

"You keep your damn eyeballs to yourself Recruit!"

Harley kept his mouth shut not knowing if that was a 'Yes Sir' or an 'Aye Sir' but it seemed the question was answered only seconds later.

"Aye Sir would be the correct responses Recruit! Do you understand?!"

"Yes Sir!"

The drill instructor grew bored of Harley and issued a command to the room, "Line up at the door recruits, it's time for chow."

The recruits headed off to the mess hall to eat breakfast. A line formed in the cafeteria as they made their way down the chow line and accepted slumps of food slopped on their plates. Baer, Cloud, and Harley stuck together and quickly sat at a table and began eating. There were rules placed on them by the drill instructors: the only hand moving should the hand with the utensil, the other hand must rest on the knee, and the most obvious rule, no talking.

They tried to eat as fast as they could as they were told a time limit was in effect, but the limit was hidden from them. They ate as fast as they could - Baer was able to shovel the food in his mouth, Harley was able to pick up the speed a little, but Cloud had a harder time chewing fast. A drill instructor called out in the hall to get up and clean their space. Cloud's eyes widened as he barely even finished a quarter of his meal. With no other choice but to concede, he threw his meal away and quickly lined up on the drill instructor. The unit of recruits were ushered out of the mess hall and back to the barracks. Upon entering the room, they saw an older man with speckled gray and black hair glaring at them. He was a strong man even in his older age - someone who should not be crossed- ever. The recruits were ordered to sit down on the floor directly in front of the sharp looking man.

"I am Staff Sergeant Abrams." He began as he glanced over the recruits, "I will be your senior Drill Instructor throughout your four months here." He shouted in his drill instructor voice as he paced back and forth in front of the recruits, "The only words I expect to hear for your mouths are 'Yes Sir', 'No Sir', and 'Aye Sir' do you understand?"

"Yes Sir!"

"Behind me is Drill Instructor Studdard, Drill Instructor Graveson, and Drill Instructor Reyes." Each drill instructor stepped forward once their name was called. They stood at an imposing attention as Abrams continued, "First and foremost, there is no sexual harassment allowed in my platoon. You will each carry yourself with the honor and respect of a soldier. Any type of sexual misconduct will be reported to me. Do you understand?"

"Yes Sir!" The recruits sat cross legged staring intently at Abrams.

"You will now clean these barracks from ceiling to deck to my satisfaction. Stand up!" He motioned with his hand to rise from seating.

"Aye Sir!"

The moment the recruits stood up, the three drill instructors left the room briefly and returned each with a large, white, five-gallon buckets filled with what clearly looked like dirt. The three of them ran rampant through the room throwing dirt on everything, the beds, the floor, in the bathroom and even on the recruits. It was infested with dirt. There was even dirt clinging to the walls and the window sills.

Abrams made a snide comment as he bellowed over the chaos, "It looks like the platoon that was here before you left it too clean! I'd thought I'd help y'all out and muck things up for you!" His face bore no smile, not even a smirk as he saw the carnage before him. Cloud's eyes widened as the small flakes of dirt sunk into his bright, blonde hair as the translucent powder dispersed in the air giving the room a brown, foggy appearance as if a sandstorm plowed through.

DI Studdard rushed up to Cloud who stood out in the group with his blonde hair and pushed up into his face, "Why are you covered in dirt recruit?! You are out of uniform! Get down and give me pushups!" Cloud was baffled as he slowly knelt down and executed pushups. Soon enough, more recruits joined Cloud and were ordered to do the same. Baer and Harley bolted off with a few others and grabbed brooms from the cleaning closet. As Baer re-entered the room, he instantly turned around and headed back to the cleaning closet, passing Harley on his way saying under his breath, "Get the mops, get the mops!"

Harley glanced back at Baer confused but as he entered the room, he fully realized why Baer doubled back. DI Graveson was screaming incoherent words as he was tossing five-gallons of water on the floor, creating a tidal wave of mud. Harley's jaw dropped as he continued to watch as DI Graveson proceeded to take the mud from the floor and smear it all over the walls, windows, bed frames, and a myriad of other surfaces. Baer popped up behind Harley and executed the same jaw dropping expression with only a thought appearing in his mind:

This was going to be wild.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: It took forever to get this chapter out. There was so much research involved with it that it set me wayyyy behind schedule. It was difficult to write everything a certain way as it is very structured, so I feel this chapter has less creative elements and perhaps forced. Maybe in the future I will rewrite it. :uckily, that chapter was the hardest to write so we will be zooming into training and on to the next developments! 
> 
> I have used the Marines Receiving (the week before boot camp starts) as a model - mainly because it is more well known (aka yellow footprints) but I envision Shinra Military being a mix of Army and Marines so I will be giving a good little combination of all of them.
> 
> From here on out, drill instructor will be abbreviated as DI such as you saw towards the end.
> 
> Forgive the grammar and spelling - I have come down with the Flu and I am editing it while sick - I tried.


	7. Squad Goals

Barret Wallace quietly followed three burly men into Sabine’s office. Barret stood at an imposing six feet tall with a clean buzz cut and a strong jaw - a fighting man for sure. He was silently ushered into Sabine’s office which earned him a standing greeting from the man himself. 

“Leave.” Sabine firmly said. His cohorts left obediently and shut the door, leaving behind an amply confused man and the Boss. 

“Mr. Wallace, please have seat.”

Barret hesitantly took a seat but sat on the edge, “Mind tellin’ me why I’m here Sir?” His veins popped from his head with anxiety. He cracked his knuckles under the imminent tension that was filling the room. 

Sabine smiled and nodded his head, “There is something you have seen; we must clear the air.”

Barret shook his head and smiled, “I’m not sure whatchu talkin’ about boss.” Barret knew, but he was in denial.

“The crate.” Sabine said sternly. His gold watch reflecting the ceiling light as a small, ribbon of light slid over the glass face in a response to him folding his hands. 

“The crate? Seein’ crates is my job - see ‘em all day, every day. Can’t do inventory without checkin’ crates.” He nervously stammered. He rubbed his short, coarse, black hair with his hand back and forth quickly - a sign of uneasiness. Barret’s was the Inventory Shipment Manager at the coal mine and his job was to view the shipping dockets, check the shipments, and give it the okay to ship. Most of the shipments were raw coal; others were natural resources the miners would dig up on occasion. He’d been doing it since he was seventeen years old.

“No, no, no Wallace - you have seen the crate and that is why you here. I have done research - you seen docket, you seen crate.” He leaned forward, “You like cat, curious.” His thick accent made the words even more threatening, “but be careful, cat dead.” 

Barret did not like the way Sabine was speaking. He grasped his hands and rested his elbows on his knees; he wasn’t sure which card to play- denial or admittance. Wasn’t really a fan of the ‘cat dead’ part, but he took it as a language barrier - which made it sound ten times more intimidating than it truly needed to be. Who the hell says, “cat dead”? He attempted to silence the sidebar of thoughts and tried to focus on the matter as he sat in silence listening to the gentle tick of the clock on the wall. 

Sabine leaned back, his brown curly hair bounced with the motion, “I make easy for you. You work for me long time. You are loyal but even loyalty must be tested. You tell truth - I call Myra and tell her you very good employee. Women must know how hard husband work - it would make her proud.”

Barret tested him, “And if I don’t?” His voice deep and solemn, unsure of what would follow.

Sabine sat with his jaw fixed, nodding his head without a word. After a moment of disgusting silence, Sabine spoke. “Cat dead.”

He leaned back into his chair, “Cat dead,” he repeated out loud as he nodded his head in understanding. His heart sank into his stomach, which sank even further down into his bowels. He wasn’t afraid of dangerous situations - not even a bit. He had death threats before, but mainly from gang members and disgruntled people - never someone as renowned as Sabine. This was some real fucking shit. 

Sabine shook his head, “Wallace, I known you and trusted you for years. I thought you honest employee. I have problem with liars.” Sabine’s voice grew dangerously dark. 

Barret conceded. He had no way around this - either way he is a dead man, “Alright! I saw the damn crate! The one full of materia. What gives?! Don’t mean you gotta kill me off!” Barret desperately spoke.

“Rule is rule.”

Barret's voice grew desperate, fighting for his very life, “What rule?! What fuckin’ rule says I gotta die because I saw a fuckin’ crate on a fuckin’ train? I didn’t ask what the fuck the crate was for, I turned a blind eye! I ain’t tryin’ a get mixed up with nothin’!” Barret slammed his hands on Sabine’s desk, earning a small courtesy check with Sabine’s men. He shooed them off instantly.

“And yet you are.” Sabine smiled, “I make you good deal. I no want you die, you are good employee. You now ship my product.”

Barret was uncomfortable with the way ‘product’ was said. Barret couldn’t believe his luck. It was a simple shipment check based on a forged shipment docket, and he somehow ended up opening a crate full of Materia. There was no way Shinra was allowing materia on a public rail system - not with all the conundrum with the laws he set forth. 

Barret closed his eyes, a strong headache began to form at the back of his skull, “I no want to make bad call to Myra.” Sabine threatened, “She is with child, no? Your choice.”

Fire sparked in Barret’s deep brown eyes. Threatening his life, fine, but bringing Myra and his unborn child into this? Not fine. In all honesty, he was unsure of the angle Sabine was playing. Was he going to kill Myra and subsequently kill his child? Or was he playing the widow and child who would never know his father card? Fear turned into intense anger and frustration as he knew he lost the battle. He snarled his face and turned to Sabine, “What do you want me to do,” he added through gritted teeth, his voice dripping with disdain, “Boss?”

“Tonight,” Sabine proceeded, “there is product drop near Cosmo Canyon - you and another go and receive.”

Barret could not keep the scowl off his face. There was no choice in the matter - even if Sabine was lying and wouldn’t hurt Myra, he was not willing to take the risk. Sabine slid him a torn paper with the drop coordinates on it.

“Do not get caught. If do, I know you not.” Barret wordlessly slapped the piece of paper and dragged the offensive note in towards the edge. He picked it up and tucked it into a pocket lining his jacket, stood up, and walked out without another word. He stormed down the hallway and went straight home to his wife - wanting to make sure he could see her beautiful face before shit hit the fan. 

\-----

Zack sat refreshing his email over and over again in the drill instructors break room. It was a small room located within the Barracks with all the necessary essentials for relaxation - a state of the art coffee machine with several different creamers to choose from, a thirty-two inch plasma T.V with a gaming console hooked up to it, a leather couch with the artistic and high quality leather of the Great Glacier inhabitants, and of course, three high-quality computers for all their internet surfing needs. Despite all these wondrous amenities, boredom quickly sank in as Zack clicked the mouse over the circled arrow refreshing the page - hoping for something new to pop up. As if the gods answered his prayers, the door swung open and DI Graveson walked in, a frown covering his handsome face and his green eyes filled with worry. He took his cover off and sat down on the couch without a word, staring at the T.V.

“Uh, you alright?” Zack asked softly.

“Well Sir,” he said without turning his head, “I just got word that -” before he could finish his sentence, Abrams walked in after him and slammed the door, his face red with anger.

“Well butter me a fuckin’ biscuit and pour gravy on it.” He gnarled his teeth as he pulled out a cigarette from his left arm pocket and lit it. He inhaled deeply on his cigarette and began to pace the room. 

“Um, did I miss something?” Zack outwardly questioned, taken aback by words chosen by Abrams - a man who seldom cursed, but did indeed enjoy gravy covered biscuits time to time. 

Abrams started, “We’ve lost funding.” Graveson shook his head in disbelief, already burdened with the same information from earlier. Abrams pressed on, “The President has decided to pull funding from training and put it towards the War.”

Zack stood up in genuine shock, “When did this happen?” His blueish-green eyes filled with concern. 

Graveson sighed, “We just got off a conference call with the higher-ups. Not a good sign.” He stood up and poured himself a cup of coffee and added an individually packaged creamer to it. With the budget cuts, this might be his last time using creamer. With that invasive thought, he grabbed two more creamers and tossed them into his coffee as an insignificant stab at the President. Might as well get his money’s worth while he still could. 

“How will we be affected?” Worry dripped from Zack voice as he glanced over and saw Graveson gag on his milky coffee. Smoke left Abrams lips, “First off, they are cutting the drill instructors payroll; many of them will be getting the boot by the end of the day.” Zack furrowed his eyebrows at the upsetting news. 

“What?!” Graveson exclaimed as he was putting more coffee into his cup, trying to salvage it, “I didn’t hear about that!”

“You wouldn’t have,” the older man spoke, “It was sent in a follow-up email to the veteran drill instructors. They are putting more work on the senior drills and reducing the payroll costs, giving more room for war efforts. Quality over quantity, or so they say.” He ran his hand through short, dark black hair that had a small gray patch on the front, “That doesn’t leave much room to instruct - we just won’t have the manpower.” He took a drag, “Not only that, our fuel and ammunition allotment are getting cut by half.” His face saddened. 

Graveson wore a look of disgust and Zack shrugged. “What are they thinking?” Abrams sighed heavily through his nose. 

“There is always VR training.” Zack added, “That’s how most of the Soldier’s get trained.” 

Abrams shook his head, “They won’t feel the heat of the gun under the pressure of the bullets. They won’t get the kick-back of the gun when it fires its rounds. They won’t get to feel the wasted shell slipping under their collar and burning the holy hell out of their skin. That’s the essence of shooting.” He gritted his teeth and puffed a breath of air, “Also,” he paused, “no tanks.”

Zack’s eyes widened and Graveson spit his coffee back into his cup, “No... tanks?! That’s the best part!” 

Abrams snapped with annoyance, “War isn’t just about tanks.” His voice was short and stern, but that didn’t stop either of them.

Graveson and Zack exchanged glances and Graveson spoke up, “Then where the heck are our training tanks sir?!”

Abrams pursed his lips regretting his response as he pulled out another cigarette and lit it, “Wutai.” Zack and Graveson dropped their shoulders in defeat and sighed. Abrams sat down on a foldable chair at the break table and flicked the ashes from the end of the cigarette into an ashtray, “Three point five million gil budget cut - who would have thought.” The worry and defeat on Abrams face made it clear how catastrophic this was. Abrams hands were being tied behind his back and yet Shinra was still telling him to train the recruits with no staff and no ammunition to shape their shooting, “I guess we can just teach them how to throw rocks at the enemy. Nothing like a good grenade arm, eh.” Graveson tried to lighten the mood but Abrams wasn’t biting. Graveson turned away and sat at the small table to finish his coffee in silence. 

President Shinra and his staff members were redirecting three and-a-half million gil to war efforts. The worst part about the whole situation was, many of these recruits would be the ones on the front lines when it started without the proper gun handling and shooting skills that they should develop during training. The recruits were the war effort and yet funding was siphoned off abroad. The moment grew dark as Zack had to ask, “When do you think it will happen, Sir? There’s not much news over at Soldier Headquarters.” Even though Zack outranked him, he always respected Abrams with politeness. 

“The war?” Abrams questioned coldly, earning a nod from Zack, “Three to six months. Last I heard, boots were on the ground in Wutai and the engineers are already at work building the bases. Deployment orders are already going out the IDTF unit as well.”

The International Defense and Tactical Force, commonly known as IDTF, was a large division within the military police that handled international and foreign disputes, a rather fancy wording for war. They were deployed alongside Soldiers and were at their every command - they were the chess pieces for the First Class. Having that unit deploy was a surefire suspicion that Shinra was about to make a move. The worst part is, no one knew when and it could only be speculated due to the confidential nature, leaving every commanding officer and even many of the higher ups in the dark. 

Zack stood up and approached Abrams, “Look,” he started somberly, “I can’t do much about the ammunition part, but I can definitely take some of the training burden off of you and your instructors.” He gave a small smile, “I’m no use just standing around doing nothing, Sir.” 

Abrams concealed joy from his words, “Son, be careful what you say. I’m likely to take your offer. Are you sure you want to get tied up with starry-eyed recruits?”

Zack shrugged, “I’m here – so use me,” he added, “Besides, how will I know who's the best if I don’t get my hands dirty, right?” His friendly smile was contagious as Graveson smiled at his attitude. Abrams nodded his head and put out his cigarette – already giving Zack assignments to take over. 

\--------

White phase. Maroon phase. Gold phase. The three phases represented the trials and tribulations each recruit must face before becoming an honorary member of the Shinra Military. The White phase represented the purity of the recruit, the naivety, the virgin. They knew nothing and were stripped of all privileges. The DIs would tell them when to speak, eat, shower, and sleep. There was no talking allowed during this month as it was their sole job to listen and absorb any and everything. This was by far the hardest phase of the three as each recruit must separate with their own individual self, a parting that was long and hard for many. The individual must give up their own ideas, mannerisms, and ego in order to be formed into an outstanding member of the military. Once the self was released, the warrior could enter, thus leading to phase two: Maroon. 

The Maroon phase represented the blood that would be spilled building the body and mind of the recruit. Physical and mental training would be brutal as they would be transformed to be an ideal soldier. This phase would give them the physical abilities to outlast the war both home and abroad. Their combat and shooting skills would be crafted and honed by the best instructors in the world. Their teamwork and compatibility as a unit would be tested and shaped as they learned how to clear buildings and rappel from towers. As physically rigorous as this phase was, it was the most enjoyable as each recruit would be able to find their strengths and weakness. 

Lastly, the Gold phase. This phase was for the DI’s to show off their recruits like the fine gold they were and be initiated into the military world. They would test for placement in the Military Police either in the Homeland Protection and Security unit or the International Defense and Tactical Force unit. Once they were placed, they would be trained for the last month on a specific job according to their own abilities then it was time to either call Midgar, Junon, or an International Base home. 

For the next month, the recruits would be in White Phase and at the sole mercy of the drill instructors. 

“Can you count recruit? There are seven recruits per squad, can you see that you are the eighth person in this squad?!” The instructor proceeded to point and count out loud every recruit in this squad’s formation. The short recruit looked petrified as the instructor stood pointing at him, “Eight! You are eighth! The numbers are one through seven you dipshit. Find your squad!” 

Panicked, the recruit roamed through the platoon formation to try and find the squad that was one person short. After a few agonizing minutes and a verbal barrage from the instructor, he fell into formation with his squad - the problem was, the instructor was not satisfied. 

“You don’t just walk into someone’s home recruit. Get over here!” The recruit, all but shaking, ran over and stood in front of the instructor, “You need to knock and wait for an answer!” The recruit kept his mouth from hanging open.

“Turn around and knock. Maybe your squad leader will open the door!” The recruit took a deep breath, raised his hand, and knocked on the imaginary door in front of the squad leader who was standing in the front of the formation. 

“Squad leader, if you are home and are willing to accept this squadless dumbass into your formation, open the door.”

The squad leader reached out and turned the invisible door knob and opened the imaginary door. 

“Don’t just stand on the doorstep and not introduce yourself? What is your name?! Tell the squad-owner your name you uncourteous ding-dong!” 

The recruit let out a raspy breath, “H-hello, I am Gerald Haygood.” The instructor slid into his face immediately, “That is not your name! Did you not understand the orientation?! First name, This, last name Recruit. Do it again!”

“Hello, my name is This Recruit. May I enter your squad?” The squad leader kept his eyes from rolling into the back of his head. He nodded and the instructor chastised Gerald one last time before letting him settle into his squad. 

That’s how training was going thus far. 

The Junon drill field was located on the grassy outskirts of the military city. Their backs were facing the mountains as they looked onto the beautiful still waters of the ocean, a sight that instilled a false sense of peace in the recruits. The platoon was currently divided into ten squadrons and what was most important about these squads were the tasks and duties that were assigned to each one. The underlying issue with this was that each recruit only knew their squad by the task name and had no idea what each task entailed. 

“Now that we are situated, get your rucks over your heads now!” The recruits instantly sped into motion and all attempted to pull their forty-five pound ruck sacks above their heads and hold it. The contest of strength and endurance began. There were many different recruits in the platoon, many were strong, some were weak, but a virtue found throughout them all was the personal determination not to be the first to fuck up. 

Six minutes painfully crawled by.

DI Reyes was yelling angry motivational words at the recruits who were already struggling with the rucksack extended over their heads. Cloud’s eyes shifted around to see if anyone was struggling. Physical fitness was not his strong point, he knew it would be a journey to get stronger. The few instructors walked in between the recruits, looking for the weakest to pick out. Cloud saw DI Studdard standing in the back eating a tasty pastry wrapped in cellophane. Baer was staring straight ahead with a firm grip on his bag whereas Cloud began to sway back and forth from the weight of his bag. Harley was assumed to be somewhere behind Cloud as he was not in his viewpoint. 

Ten more grueling minutes passed – a torture no one was ready for. 

Cloud was sweating, his arms were shaking, and his shoulders were on fire. Cloud tried to focus his best to keep his ruck up - but his arms gave way and it crashed to the ground. Cloud gasped and stood still with shock. 

And then they came. 

“What are you doing, Recruit?!” Reyes was in his face, nose to nose, “Did I say to drop your bag?”

Cloud stood at attention with his fist clenched next to his thighs, “Sir, No, Sir!” Sweat beading down his face in the hot Junon sun. 

Reyes took a large breath, preparing for his attack, “Then why is your bag on the ground Recruit!?” Spit flew into Cloud’s face. 

“Sir, it fell, Sir!” Cloud’s exasperatedly cried.

“My god!” Reyes dramatically threw his head back and stared into the sky, “Did it fall from the fuckin’ heavens?!” Reyes returned his gaze to Cloud showing pure hatred in his brown eyes. He turned and addressed the entire platoon, “It seems that this recruit has been chosen by the gods because a magic ruck just fell out of the damned sky!” 

He turned and blew Cloud’s hair back with his booming command, “Pick it up Recruit!” Cloud quickly picked it back up and slowly and painfully forced it over his head - using all his concentration to make his exhausted muscles push the ruck over his head. He could feel every fiber of this muscle fight against him, but he overpowered them with his focus and determination not to infuriate the DI even more. He finally lifted it over his head, his teeth gritting from the process. 

“Now, put it down!” Cloud stood for a second as his brain began to process the next step. He slowly brought the heavy ruck down and placed it at his feet.

“Pick it up again!” Cloud cried on the inside and did what Reyes wanted, which was promptly followed by another command to put it down, Cloud followed. A second drill instructor craned his neck to see what the commotion was about and walked over, swiftly joined by a third. 

Oh. Great. Gaia. 

Cloud was swarmed by three drill instructors all shouting at him, their noses touching his face while he was staring down at his ruck, his arms fatigued and hanging by his sides. One was telling him to pick it up, another was telling him to drop and give him pushups, and Reyes was telling him to put it down when it was already on the ground. Cloud’s face dropped as he stared in front of him blankly, defeat slowly swallowing him. 

Thank Odin’s Glorious Asshole.

Another recruit dropped his bag, that called two drill instructors off of Cloud and over at the unfortunate recruit - and boy was he was yelled at. Cloud was back to one vs. one match with Reyes, “the gods are generous today! You drop that bag again Recruit and I will shove it up your ass!”

“Aye Sir!” 

“Open your mouth recruit!” Reyes screamed in Cloud’s face. 

“Aye Sir!” Cloud yelled louder as he looked straight ahead, not wanting to look the instructor in the eyes. 

DI Studdard walked in front of the formation and threw his pastry wrapper on the ground in front of the recruits and yelled, “Why is there trash on my field?! You let your field look like this?! Clean-up squad, get on it!” 

Cloud, exhausted from the physical and social humiliation, and six other recruits in his squad dropped their rusks and ran out of formation, heading straight for the wrapper. One recruit bent down and picked up the wrapper. Studdard grabbed it from the recruit’s hand and threw it on the ground again, “Where is your teamwork! Why is one person working when all y’all are standing there watching ‘im?! Now, the entire squad needs to pick it up and throw it away!” Cloud and his squad shot glances at each other unsure of what to do as they were all exhausted and fatigued from holding their rucks. They gestured to each other with shrugs and all seven recruits circled around the small, offending wrapper and each recruit grabbed a part of the wrapper with their fingers and carried it as a group over to a trash can, huddled together in a circle formation with a crab-like walk, the looks of despair on all of their faces. They approached the trashcan and released the wrapper in unison. 

“Get your asses back in formation and don’t waste time!” They hurried back and raised their rucks over their head, secretly thankful for the asinine break. 

At least Cloud knew what Clean-Up squad entailed. 

\------

Zack walked the long halls of the classroom building trying to make it to the class he offered to teach, no, was forced to teach. After telling Abrams that he would lend a helping hand, he got way more than he anticipated. Already three drill instructors were taken off the payroll within the few hours of their morning meeting, leaving basic training in a state of chaos, but that was to be hidden from the recruits. Luckily, he was an expert with the materials entrusted to him as he was very passionate about the class he was about to teach. He walked strong and forcefully into the classroom of waiting recruits who were standing behind theirs chairs, waiting for the order to sit. Upon Zack cleaning the doorway, the recruits were already in shock.

“Take a seat.”

The recruits sat down quickly with disbelief that a Second-Class Soldier was in front of them. 

“I am Second-Class Soldier Zack Fair and I will be teaching you the Basics of Soldier Physical and Nutritional Wellness. If I go to fast, please stop me - I want to ensure you all have a strong grasp and great notes on the subject. It is really the most beneficial of class that you will take in the White Phase despite what other DIs will tell you.” 

His face was relaxed and confident, giving an easy going approach to teaching the class, “I am going to go through the basics of nutritional choice to improve and max your performance on and off the battlefield.” His wore a friendly smile as he turned to the chalkboard, “Still using chalkboards, huh?” He muttered out loud. He looked along the shelf of the chalkboard in search of the chalk itself. He picked up an eraser that was resting coyly on the shelf, but still there was no chalk in sight. He began to look in the small podium and couldn’t find a piece.

“What good is a chalkboard without any chalk?” He shrugged to the class, “Supply squad, find me chalk!” He ordered. Baer and the rest of the squad recruits stood up and immediately left the room on the wild hunt for chalk. 

Zack grabbed the podium sides with his hands and leaned with his arms stretched outwards, “Got any questions?” He said to kill time as the great hunt for wild chalk commenced. More than half of the recruits raised their hands. Zack pointed to a recruit who stood up anxiously, “Sir, do you have any tips to share with these recruits concerning getting into Soldier, Sir?”

Zack laughed and ran a hand through his hair, “Well, I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news but, out of everyone here, maybe one of you will make it -maybe.” He felt the mood of the room sadden and quickly added, “Well, that’s what the statistics show us anyway. That doesn’t mean it can’t change.” He stood straight, balled up his fist, and pointed his thumb to his chest, “I busted my ass during basic and was able to go straight into IDTF right after graduation. While there, A First-Class Soldier scouted me and took me under his wing and then a month later - Boom,” he clapped, “I’m a Third-Class Soldier. Your rank and position in the military is what you make of it. Keep focused on your goals and don’t lose sight of them. If you truly want to be a Soldier, you’ll make it happen.” The mood lightened - successful diversion. 

His eyes expertly shifted around the room, memorizing the recruits faces. His well-trained ears picked up footsteps in the hallway - they must have returned. Six recruits filed into the room, Baer came last. 

“Sir, here is your chalk Sir!” Baer extended chalk over to the Soldier, “Blue? From what room?” Zack questioned

“Sir, Room 103 Sir!” Baer responded. Zack shrugged, “I dig it.” Zack smiled and commanded them to return to their seats. 

“Alright, now that we have secured the chalk. Let’s get started with your expectation of physical upkeep.” He began to write on the board, signaling the recruits to begin to take notes.

“Your body is your weapon and single most important defense against enemies. How you feed it, maintain it, and exercise it depends how well you do with combat. You must always be able to pass the PT test every week - no if and’s or but’s - and you should always strive to beat your previous test scores.” He paused as he wrote a word on the board: Diet.

He underlined it, “Your diet is your tool to push you past your limits. You don’t want unleaded gas in your luxury car, right? Same goes for your body. Classed Soldiers are required to keep our body battle ready twenty-four seven and it is my job to ensure you do the same, even at the military police level – you never know when an opportunity to take the Soldier Exam pops up and you don’t want to miss it. Be Battle Ready.” He pressed this idea and hoped it would penetrate the recruit’s minds, “Alright, let’s go through the basics of a soldier’s nutrition - open your books to page thirteen at look at the chart.”

For the next two hours, Zack covered everything from amino acids to ATP to the food pyramid to bodyweight workouts - the whole shebang. For as laid back as Zack might have been perceived as, he had a pretty good brain on him. He would pause occasionally and watch the recruits feverishly write down notes - something he greatly appreciated - they were listening to him. 

“I highly suggest you go through your notes on a daily basis to prepare for the White Phase test. In your textbook there is a food log - you should fill it out every night when you have personal time. If you feel you are slumping and not performing well, check your food intake first and then adjust according to your logs. The body is adaptable and you will need to shock it every now and then, so don’t be afraid switch it up you know?” Zack smiled an endearing grin, “Well, my work here is done and it was certainly a pleasure teaching you all.” He shut his book and relayed orders, “Your orders are to return to the common area and regroup with DI Reyes for further instructions.” 

The recruits stood up with a sharp ‘Aye Sir!’ and lined up along the wall and filed out the room. Zack turned and erased the chalkboard, the blue dusty lines becoming a vague memory of his teaching session. Zack gently placed the eraser down and a chill went through his body. Abrams words entered his mind, giving him a large dose of responsibility. It was his job to ensure these recruits were set for their futures; one two-hour class would not be enough to get the information in their heads. A mischievous thought popped into his mind as he grabbed the chalk to return it to Room 103. 

As he stepped out into the hall, a muffled shout startled him from behind a closed door down the hallway, “Where the fuck is my goddamn blue chalk?! Find my chalk!” The door swung open as frantic recruits piled into the hallway at the command of the instructor. Zack raised his eyebrows as he saw one, and then two, now six recruits panic at his presence and tried to salute him while the DI continued to bellow commands down the hall. Zack walked up to one of the poorly saluting recruits, “At ease,” he commanded as he held out the blue chalk, “Thanks.” The recruit stared at the Second-Class Soldier, but he was instantly brought back to life by the screeching call of his DI. He grabbed the chalk and hastily flailed down the hall and returned the beloved blue chalk to the DI. 

\----  
After finishing the day full of classes, it was finally time for the recruits to eat dinner, clean the barracks, and turn in for the night. The recruits were shuffling through the food line with their trays making their food selections. They were groggy and tired from their strenuous day of activities and classes and none of their minds could focus. 

Being a great mentor that Zack was, he was ready to put the recruits to the test - wanting to see their retention from his class. They were already being barked at by the drill instructors to move faster so he decided to have fun and join the rally. Swiftly, he walked up to the food line and began to get into the recruits faces, “Do you think this will satisfy your protein for the day?! How many grams do you need to be eating to maintain your macros?!” 

Every single jaw was on the floor. The drill instructors tightened their mouths to hide their smiles. This was the first time a Soldier ever smoked a recruit. This was history. 

The recruit stammered as his eyes shifted in nervousness, “Sir, uh uh protein intake -.”

“One-hundred and ten grams is the answer to my question. How many grams of protein is needed per day to maintain a soldier’s body recruit?!”

“Sir, one-hundred and ten grams Sir!” 

“Excellent!” Zack moved to another recruit near the end of the line. The recruit’s face was etched with panic as if he was caught red-handed. Oh he was. Upon walking up to him, Zack blue eyes gravitated to the plate of cake which was coyly hiding under the recruit’s tray. The recruit said his prayers. 

“It seems you have grabbed the wrong item recruit as this item does not have any nutritional value to you. Don’t worry, I’ll help you increase the vitamins of this item!” Zack snatched the offending item from the recruit’s hand, walked around to the kitchen side and scooped a large spoon of watery, green peas and covered the cake, and handed it back to the recruit.

“You will eat every bite because in the military, we do not waste food!” The recruit looked at the watery goo the cake had transformed into, the white frosting began to clump with the pea juice and turned a milky green color. The smell of pea mixed with confectioners’ sugar penetrated his nostrils to the point where he could feel the bile rise in his throat. And now, he had to eat it. Zack handed him a fork and ordered him to eat, “Take a bite of it to show your platoon that you want to eat your vitamins!” Zack smiled brightly as the recruit scrunched his face and stuck the fork into the cake, making a slimy, suction sound as a piece was gathered into the prongs. He regrettably placed it into his mouth and gagged as his face employed the most disgusted reaction it could muster. He dropped the cake on the ground and ran over to the trash can and spat it out, a small amount of saliva followed and it dripped in strings from his mouth. 

“That’s how we eat cake in basic training! If you don’t like that, don’t get it!” Zack clapped and moved on to the next victim. 

“Clean-up squad clean this mess up!” a drill instructor yelled from the background, pointing to the cake covered in peas laying in a homicidal pile on the floor. Cloud and his squad were off as they searched for the nearest mops. Zack walked up to Harley and inspected his tray, “What is creatine Recruit?”

Harley froze. The answer was not coming to his mind. He was buckling under pure exhaustion and pressure. A black-haired recruit in front of Harley turned around in line and began to mouth words at him. Harley struggled to read his lips. His mind was able to pull the matching words from the recruit’s mouth and blurted the answer, “Sir, it’s an amino acid, Sir!” 

Zack smiled, “and it’s function?”

Harley shifted his eyes back to the black-haired recruit who was mouthing the answer again. 

“Muscle enhancement and endurance.” The black-haired recruit nodded at Harley’s answer. 

Zack smiled, “Great! Next time, I hope you can get the answer without reading lips.” Zack turned and looked at the black-haired recruit whose face turned as stiff as stone. Zack locked onto his smart, light-brown eyes. In an instant, Zack found what he was searching for - a leader. He turned away from the recruit and strongly urged Harley to study some chapters in the textbook. He stepped away from the food line and shouted, “If you feel you have made any incorrect choices with your food, I suggest you change them now before I step in and pick your food for you!” The recruits, standing and those already sitting, sprinted to the food line and began making food swaps, changing rolls and apple sauce cups for more vegetables and meats. Gerald and his six squad mates stood behind the food counter with hair-nets and aprons on, quickly scooped the items onto his platoon’s tray. Being in the mess hall squad served to be more stressful than he anticipated as food was flying all over the place. At least it was true to its name – messy. 

Zack, now along with other drill instructors, continued to yell and correct recruits on their food choices until they were satisfied with what they saw. Zack stepped back and watched the carnage explode before him as he smiled inwardly thinking he might actually enjoy being the Soldier-in-Charge for this training platoon. 

\----

Night fell too quick as Barret rode in the back of a white, unmarked delivery truck alongside another coal miner he identified as Dyne. Dyne had short black hair, a tall, lean muscular build, and olive skin. He was chewing on sunflower seeds as the truck bumped up and down on the rocky terrain. Barret was sweaty nervously and began to fumble with his hands as anxiety filled his mind. He stared at Dyne who looked relaxed and at ease, it could only be assumed that he’d done this a couple of times already. 

Barret broke the silence, “Did you volunteer for this?”

Dyne’s eye shot up and stared at him, his jaw slowly pulsating from him chewing on the sunflower seeds. He remained silent and the air turned uncomfortable. Barret scowled and leaned back on the bench in the back of the truck, folding his arms across his chest. What a great first impression. He never worked with Dyne personally, but he did hear about him occasionally. He was in charge of the blast mining crew that would go into the mountains and blast open the digging sites for the rest of the miners. He heard he was a tough man, he wasn’t expecting him to look as menacing as he did. The large scar over his eye certainly didn’t help either. 

The truck rolled to a stop and Dyne quickly pushed open the back doors and stepped out, walking to a small crevice in the mountains. Barret cautiously jumped out and took in his surroundings. It was pitch black and the tall mountains stood over him, giving him an ominous feeling. The stars were bright in the sky as a chill wind ran through his body. He saw another parked van in the distance – an uncomfortable sense of danger crawled through his spine and he quickly made his way next to Dyne. 

As he caught up, three men appeared from the parked van and nodded to Dyne. They stopped and stared at each other, distance between them. A grungy accent coated the words of the strange man, “It’s in the back.”

Dyne continued to stare without moving. 

“It’s in the back, are you deaf?!” The thug shouted, his greasy hair reflected in the moonlight. Several rings were on his fingers and a gold chain dressed his neck. His black hair was slicked back away from his face. He shook his head in surrender and snapped his fingers. A giant wooden box was dragged from the van and placed between them. Barret noticed the crate – it was the same crate that held the materia. It was marked with ‘Jager’s Trading Company’ stamped on the front and top of the crate. 

“Such attitude - you shouldn’t treat your boss like that.” The man smugly said as a smirk broke on his face and pointed to Barret, “Don’t learn your manners from this one - we haven’t killed him yet because he doesn’t piss himself at the drop offs like some of the others Sabine has sent in the past.” He shifted his stance, “Hurry up and check it - I’ve got a hot pussy waitin’ on me. Time is of the essence.” A snake-like sound came from his mouth. Dyne motioned Barret over to the crate. Hesitantly, Barret took a step forward as he saw no way out of his situation, especially with their shirts raised to show off their handguns tucked in their pants. He cracked open the wooden crate and saw a multitude of glowing orbs of all different colors. Dyne nodded from afar, clearly recalling that this crate was much larger than the last. 

“We’ll probably be seeing you again this week - Wutai’s been frisky with the materia shipments.”

“Wutai?” Barret questioned as he shut the lid on the crate. 

The thug lit a cigar, “Yeah. We got a sweet deal with Wutai. They be sendin’ us their materia so the Pig don’t take it after the war. And they doin’ it for free because that’s the kind of business men we are. Helpin’ a fellow anti-Shinra county out.” He ground his teeth as he puffed out smoke.

Barret had so many questions and a silent partner who kept his mouth shut. 

“Hurry up and get this on the train - it’s supposed to be there by two am.” 

Barret and Dyne moved to the crate and placed it in the back of their truck. The thugs flipped them off and departed. Barret hopped back into the truck with Dyne and closed the doors. He stared at the crate and knew whatever he got himself into was more than he bargained for. 

Pressing the matter again he asked, “What the fuck is up, Dyne.”

Nothing.

“You really gonna be silent? What the fuck is we doin’ Dyne?” Barret repeated his question sterner than before. 

“Figure it out on your own.” His deep raspy voice answered. 

“You want me to say what I think this is?! I think we’re getting our hands dirty with some fucked up bullshit. Why the fuck is Wutai sending some thugs materia?”

“I’m not here for politics.”

“Well I sure ain’t here for shit! What the fuck man. Fuck!” Barret slouched up against the wall of the truck. His uneasiness filled the space between him and Dyne. Barret was shaking his head and began to bite his cuticles. Dyne settled back against the wall as well. When Dyne first started doing the drop offs for Sabine, he was in Barret's shoes. He was questioning everything and terrified mostly of getting shot or tortured. Once he accepted his fate and went along with the rules, it grew easier and easier. 

The rest of the ride was lived out in silence except for the soft clanking of the glass materia gently knocking against each other with every bump the truck made. Barret was lost in his mind and was startled when a bag of sunflower seeds was thrown at him, hitting him in the chest.

“It’ll keep your mind off things.” Dyne said as he closed his eyes. Barret picked up the bag, looked inside, and plucked one of the seeds nestled inside. He focused on the saltiness of the seed as he laid his head back and hoped for the best. 

After all, his life depended on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Reviews are the fuel to my soul. Tell me what you think! I really do want input to make me better as a writer and help shape this story - sometimes I need an outside set of eyeballs to pull me out of writer’s block and just give me a different angle. I really am sorry for any grammar or spelling / word flaws, I just can’t catch them all.
> 
> I do hate updating around once a month, but alas, I’m chained to work as many of us are, and it takes me about a month to write and edit. Eh, could be worse but I do apologize for the long updates.
> 
> I appreciate everyone taking the time to click and read my story. I do hope it brings happiness to you just as many fics have brought happiness to me :)
> 
> Terms:  
> Cover- military word for hat


End file.
